Cigarrette smuggling in Md.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

If you smoke you're more likely to end up in the hospital in your elder years, costing Medicare more.

Just like car insurance where if you're prone to accidents you pay a higher premium, so should smokers because their hospital and pharmaceutical utilization is higher.

I don't care whether the additional tax revenue actually goes to Medicare, or goes somewhere else. Bottom line is it's only fair to pay more for risk coverage if you engage in riskier behavior.

Are you so sure about that?

White House statement supporting the bill, which awaits action in the Senate, echoed the argument by contending that tobacco use "accounts for over a $100 billion annually in financial costs to the economy."
However, smokers die some 10 years earlier than nonsmokers, according to the CDC, and those premature deaths provide a savings to Medicare, Social Security, private pensions and other programs.
Vanderbilt University economist Kip Viscusi studied the net costs of smoking-related spending and savings and found that for every pack of cigarettes smoked, the country reaps a net cost savings of 32 cents.
Do smokers cost society money?