Biden administration finally does something good

[dead0man]

for the 7th time, fat people cost us more in medical services than smokers, ex-smokers, or the elderly

and they smell worse too, also dumber.

[dead0man]

for the 7th time, fat people cost us more in medical services than smokers, ex-smokers, or the elderly

and they smell worse too, also dumber.

Not that I doubt the result necessarily, but that article is 20 years old and at least in your link doesn't make it clear whether it's measuring commercial or Medicare health costs.

In the 0-65 population, my understanding of prevailing studies is that smoking increases costs by less than 10% but is way higher in the 65+.

"Health care costs associated with obesity and smoking are substantial, about $1,360 and $1,046 per person per year, respectively," said University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Ruopeng An, who conducted the analysis. These numbers reflect the added costs of obesity and smoking above the average annual health care expenditures of non-obese and nonsmoking Americans, he said.

and this one

Obesity has a similar impact on life expectancy. But while smoking certainly carries numerous and substantial health risks, obesity poses even more.
A 2019 study of nearly 450,000 people in PLoS Genetics linked excessive weight to coronary artery disease, stroke, type 1 and 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic liver disease, renal failure, and lung cancer.
According to a Lancet review of 57 studies, obese people ages 40 to 45 can expect an eight to 10 year loss of life expectancy.

[dead0man]

and it never even happened

The White House has missed its deadline to publish a rule banning menthol cigarettes, raising ire among public health advocates that the policy will be indefinitely delayed by election year politics. 

In an effort to force the administration to act, three anti-tobacco public health groups on Tuesday sued the Food and Drug Administration and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services. 

“Because of Defendants’ inaction, tobacco companies have continued to use menthol cigarettes to target youth, women, and the Black community — all to the detriment of public health,” the groups said in their complaint, which was filed in the Northern District of California.   

Health officials initially targeted last August to publish the rule to ban menthol. But at the end of last year, the Biden administration delayed the ban until March after fierce lobbying from critics — including the tobacco industry — seemingly spooked the White House that such a move could anger Black smokers and harm President Biden’s reelection chances.