By that same token, those who eat junk foods, drink alcohol, live in cities with high pollution, and drive recklessly should also pay for all of their own medical expenses.

I understand some people can't help if they are overweight, but a majority can help it. Should the overweight people pay for their hospital and medical bills? after all they pay for the food! no one forces them to eat it ! and now there are health warnings for being obese ! here's an interesting link http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/alabama-fat-tax-44082808

I'm too tired to type out my long response I have planned for this very question, suffice to say: smokers already pay for what they add to the system. In fact, in a non-socialized system, the patient already pays for their bills, rendering your point moot. In socialized health care systems, a smoker will extract less money in a lifetime than a non-smoker. Should non-smokers pay smokers for their non-smoke related hospital and medical bills?

How ridiculous, can you prove the cause of every need for medical treatment, why doesn't the government ban cigarettes then, you can't have your cake and eat it too!

Don't smokers and people who engage in high risk activites pay higher life insurance premiums? Also, if you try to get your own health insurance, you will pay more there too. I am not a smoker, and am anti-smoking, but I think there is quite a bit of disincentive already, yet people continue to smoke.

What do you mean "and now there is health warnings!"? The Surgen General mandated the smoking warning labels on cigarettes as far back as 1966 (actually it was a caution until 1970). These have been there anyone to read, and trust me: they WERE read. And ignored. Smokers smoked anyway because they WANTED to smoke, for whatever reason. I think maybe you're reacting to the results of that huge class action lawsuit back in the 90's, which started off the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of ongoing lawsuits that are happening even to this day as a result. Here's one such site that proudly advertises that fact: http://www.ash.org/tobacco-class-actions.html The only thing that p*sses me off about these people is that it was all started off in the 90s by a bunch of people (read: thousands) who, despite the decades of warnings, stood up in that class action lawsuit and lied their collective *sses off by saying "We didn't know smoking was bad for us". What a crock of sh*t. CLUE HERE: SUCKING IN SMOKE FROM ANYTHING BURNING IS BAD FOR YOU! Any moron who coughs and chokes when inhaling smoke can tell you this. As for paying for their bills? They are, in a way. Higher insurance premiums, for one. And ultimately poorer quality of life and an earlier death. Unfortunately, the rest of us also suffer somewhat because we also pay higher insurance as a result, though not as high as a smoker. At least, if they are honest about that on their insurance policies. But then, that would come out during claims anyway. My personal opinion about smokers? If they want to smoke, so be it. It's their decision and they have to live with any of the consequences. Just have the common courtesy not to smoke around me. And if I'm in a smoking area? Well, that's my decision and I have no business b*tching about it.

with the new american health bill it might be time to pay for your self afflicted hillnesses

They already pay. And as someone pointed out their overall cost to the system is less because they kick off sooner. . Not all people who get lung cancer are smokers. And not all smokers who get lung cancer get it from the smoking (though surely the vast majority do). . This question was likely engendered by the health care debate. It's not going away because there is not an infinite amount of money for treatments and as long as that is the case people will ask why we all have to pay for other people's mistakes. Indeed that is the central question for a LOT of government spending.

No, if you added all the money they spent on smokes they should be treated free if anything goes wrong. :)

I dont think so(btw i dont smoke). But bad health is bad health. you cant put catagories to people who need medical attention. That would be like saying pay for your own skin cancer treatment cos you went in the sun.