I understand the concerns that many people have about the hospital treatment received by smokers and overweight people, but feel that there is absolutely no question that these people should still receive treatments.Here are some of my reasons.

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH

Where would hospitals and health-care professionals draw the line about weight and smoking. Would a smoker who puffs away on 80 cigarettes a day be classed the same as someone who had a couple of cigarettes a week? Would someone who weighed 40 stone be the same as someone who carried an extra half a stone of weight? Setting levels would be nigh on impossible.

HOLIER THAN THOUGH.

Who decides what is wrong and where the lines will be drawn. Do we stop at weight and smoking? I work for the NHS in England and know that the service actively treats drug addicts, those who eat bad diets and may not be fat but have ruined their digestion and alcoholics with livers which are shot to pieces. Are we really so perfect as to be able to judge others and find them, in a way, unworthy.

People can always argue that smokers and fat people are responsible for their poor health but that is true of many of us. Many conditions come about through our own self abuse. Can we also always assume that people do not have to be the way they are. There are often genetic factors, which predispose people towards a particular build and lifestyle. If we can spend the vast amounts of time, money and effort on drug addicts surely we can try and help the seriously overweight and addicted smokers to change their lifestyles.

I know some doctors argue that various procedures are a waste of time, on those that smoke and those that are fat.In some case that may be true. I know it will be difficult for doctors, if the patient is not willing to try and change. However seeing as being fat, and or smoking is not illegal, I cannot see how a doctor can refuse to treat such a patient. His duty is to care for his patients and just because areas such as the NHS are in dire straits financially, is no reason to deprive some of treatment.

I would also like to point out that the size of someone, or if they smoke, rarely seems to come into the equation, if the patient is wealthy and paying privately.

Learn more about this author, Ethel Smith.
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