Medical Insurance
Transcript: Our government swore to promote the general welfare "List of Smoking-related Diseases Expanded." Msnbc.com. The Associated Press, 27 May 2004. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. Government is a contract. Banerjee, Preet. "Smoking a Pack a Day Can Cost You Millions." WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGocom. 7 July 2008. 30 Jan. 2013 <http://wheredoesallmymoneygo.com/smoking-a-pack-a-day-can-cost-you-millions/> Most of these diseases can be largely avoided by not smoking. Smoking has also been directly linked to many diseases, among them the following: S, A. C. "Health Care: You Didn't Pay for It." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 5 Oct. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. Health Insurance Smokers can not afford to pay that expensive of a rate on their medical insurance U.S. Constitution, Preamble. "Medicare." Congressional Budget Office. Congressional Budget Office, 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. <http://www.cbo.gov/topics/retirement/medicare>. By Hana Dickens Male smokers are 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer. Part of our government's job is to protect it's citizens. S, A. C. "Health Care: You Didn't Pay for It." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 5 Oct. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. Smoking increases the smoker's chances of dying at an early age. Some statistics and media publications are a little blown out of proportion, but the facts that come from reputable sources, such as the Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU) and the Centers for disease control (CDC), are to be taken very seriously. We the people have agreed to be governed and to abide by certain rules, but in the turn the government must give us protection, a say in government, and basic rights. If a smoker were to give up one pack a day, they would save 3,600 dollars approximately, more than enough to cover the increased bill. With room for many variables, the average American pays around 1,200 dollars a year to Medicare. The Average American also receives around 11,100 dollars in Medicare checks a year. These checks cover medical expenses as well as part of the cost of living. Since smokers have more health issues than non-smokers, smokers use more Medicare money on average. Wanjek, Christopher. "Smoking's Many Myths Examined." LiveScience.com. N.p., 18 Nov. 2008. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. By decreasing the amount of smokers, less people would get lung cancer. In a study performed by Richard Doll, Richard Peto, Jillian Boreham, and Isabelle Sutherland that spanned over 50 years, "the cigarette smoker versus non-smoker probabilities of dying in middle age were 42% v. 24%" (www.bmj.com) nearly a two to one ratio. Ms. Reed English II Pre-AP Hour 2 The Average American couple feeds 116,000 dollars into the Medicare system. The average American couple gets out around 357,000 by the time they are done getting Medicare checks. "APIS - About Alcohol Policy." APIS - About Alcohol Policy. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 30 Jan. 2013 <http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/about_alcohol_policy.html>. Doll, Richard, Richard Peto, Jillian Boreham, and Isabelle Sutherland. "Mortality in Relation to Smoking: 50 Years' Observations on Male British Doctors." BMJ. N.p., 24 June 2004. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. <http://www.bmj.com/content/328/7455/1519>. acute myeloid leukemia cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach abdominal aortic aneurysm, cataracts, periodontitis pneumonia cancer of the bladder, esophagus, larynx, lung, mouth, throat chronic lung disease, chronic heart and cardiovascular disease reproductive problems. Refutations Previously, the United states government has restricted all sorts of harmful things in various ways, among them alcohol. Our government already has a record of doing things for the general public safety. Most of the health risks supposedly connected to smoking are exaggerated to scare smokers. Health insurance for smokers should be twice as much as it is currently. Increasing the cost of medical insurance for smokers would discourage smoking. "Duties of the government." Inquirer Opinion. 14 July 2012. Philippine daily Inquirer. 30 Jan. 2013 <http://opinion.inquirer.net/32585/duties-of-the-government>. The general welfare is the average quality of life of the everyday American. One good way to promote, or improve, the average American's quality of life would be to discourage so many people from smoking. Raising the health insurance rates for smokers would help do that. Increased health insurance would make up for increased medicare costs during retirement.