[Steve_Seattle]

You were being satirical, but there is actually some truth to what you say. You always hear these statistics about the medical and social costs of smoking, but those statistics almost always compare the cost of smoking with an alternate scenario in which the non-smoking individual never incurs any medical expenses whatsoever or makes any claims on government resources.

But the smoker who dies at 60 might in fact incur fewer lifetime medical costs and social costs (retirement/social security) than the non-smoker who dies at 90. This is not an argument for smoking, but for honesty in the use of statistics.

[grania]

honesty in the use of statistics

I'll second that. The first goal of the Society for Honesty in the Use of Statistics should be the abolishment of seasonally-adjusted data.

[demshateGod]

Overeating and eating bad stuff is a sin problem that totally gets a pass in just about every church. The government is going to step in with their solution, and it’s going to suck.