Should smokers be refused NHS treatment?
No, the National Health Service has been created to provide health care for all, and as the UK is a democracy people have a right to make their own choices. Only if the UK would choose to go to private health insurance, these companies could then refuse people based on their lifestyle. But that’s not exactly progress. In the Netherlands people pay a minimum of £50 monthly to be insured with private health insurers, but have a choice whether or not to include dental health, maternity cover etc, which can add to the price. A few years ago, the government provided a service similar to the NHS and private insurers tendered to the rich. A bit like BUPA. There are no benefits to the new situation at all, apart from more money going into health research etc perhaps – but it really hurts people’s pockets. Apart from that, health insurance is almost impossible to get if you’re already sick, if you have a history or genealogy of sickness, or if you can ill afford it (no pun intended). On the plu
