Biden administration finally does something good

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Jokes aside, I'm increasing of the opinion that "public health" advocacy is the worst form of nanny-statism.  Let people have their vices, life sucks enough for most people as is, sheesh.   

This is fine until we have to pay for those people's healthcare.

Exactly. A single treatment of chemotherapy for a Medicare patient costs the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. Multiply that by the number of times a typical cancer patient gets chemo and the number of 65+ people with cancer (not just lung), as well as all sorts of other health problems caused by smoking.

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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+.