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Just wondering if there are any honest statistics
out there about the net cost to society of smoking, obesity etc. All I ever hear
are sound bites about "the cost of treating smoking (obesity etc) related
diseases". Do these statistics take into account the savings in healthcare,
social security, pension... that come if people die earlier? The cheapest
person, for society, is one that works all his life, pays taxes (including sin
taxes) and drops dead from a heart attack the day he retires.
What does this have to do with radiation? We
complain about the lack of thought and understanding the press exhibits when
reporting on radiation issues, yet we are ready consumers of junk
statistics if they agree with our overall world view. We should have zero
tolerance for this nonsense, regardless whether we agree with the overall
message or with the messenger. Maybe these statistics consider the savings (I
don't know), but I have never heard a reporter raise the question.
Kai
I, for one, am not willing to contribute one cent to pay for |