Fair?
When was anything on this planet ever supposed to be “fair”?
Oh, when the government regulates it, owns it, distributes it; then it must be “fair”.
In the open market it is only RATIONAL that smokers pay higher prices, they incur a greater risk.
But when government gets involved, suddenly the actuarial tables are thrown out in favor of or condemnation of certain behaviors and/or groups.
Then it has to be “fair”.
Silly argument to make. But it is the basis for how Socialism destroys the cohesiveness of a society. Instead of people being your fellow citizens and neighbors, they are competitors for government largess, counted as co-owner of everything you have, and everyone has their eye on who is getting the “sweet” deal and if everything is “fair”.
Under capitalism “fair” means that you get the APPROPRIATE price for the service rendered. And the APPROPRIATE price to cover a smoker is necessarily higher.
Dear smoke nazis-
The appropriate price for someone who participates in sports should be higher then also, right?
Just the military spends over a Trillion a year on such injuries, far more than smoking (see link)
A smoker is likely to incur smoking related expenses about 30 years from now.
An athelete, professional or otherwise is likely to incur a sports injury this year, and the next year, etc..
If the rationale for charging smokers more is their “expense”, then it is rational to charge more for ANY activity that incurs medical expenses.
So if you want to “punish” smokers because you don’t like it, at least admit that.
Just don’t try to justify it on a cost rationale, because there isn’t one.
My guess is that they will charge the smokers the higher premiums, but then when smokers need medical care, they will be denied due to being smokers. Just another revenue source, more than likely.