Patient denied care because he smokes

Doctor in trouble for telling fat patient she's fat

What's wrong with that!

 

For a start, that story is in the Daily bloody Mail of all places. A paper that just seems to print stories in way that will wind people up. Really, that paper shouldn't be allowed. (Come to think of it, non of them should).

Secondly, as Rob keeps pointing out, the doctor hasn't diagnosed that treatment would be best, and is then sitting back and then saying "no way you flithy smoker". He's saying that treatment ISN'T the best option.

I agree that simply refusing someone because they smoke would be a silly as refusing to treat a parachute jumper if they landed badly

"It's your bloody fault, you shouldn't have been up that plane in the first place!"

 

Another faulty and wrong comparison.

The smoker knew without doubt that they are hurting their bodies and will die as a result if something doesn't kill them before it.

The parachute jumper had a good probably of landing fine and didn't expect to be hurt like a smoker should.

One is an accident, the other is a person purposely poisoning their body. How is it a comparison?

 

Smokers didn't always know it would hurt their bodies.

Furthermore, lets say this situation happened to somebody that has been smoking for 20 years. Assume they have tried to quit and haven't been able to. 20 years of smoking kill sticks (as I like to call them), makes your body become extremely dependant upon them. Despite councelling, medications, and just trying to quit out right, the person was unable to quit even though they wanted to. Say there were thrown into a rehab clinic (I don't think they actually do this for nicotine addition), and their body went into severe shock and the person wound up in the hospital because their body was demanding nicotine. Say the person has exhausted every medical means to quit the habbit and they have all failed (yes, this does happen quite a bit).

Should that person be denied treatment?

The news story didn't say whether or not the person has tried to quit in the past and what the results were. You seem to be assuming the person is able to quit the habit, what if they tried several times and were unable to?

 

Personally I don't believe for a second that anyone who REALLY wants to quit, doesn't. So again, I have no sympathy for a person who dies as a result of poisoning their own bodies. Especially when there's millions of other people who are born with diseases and disabilities who never had a healthy body to destroy.

 

You've never had to deal with addiction problems in your life have you? If you did, you wouldn't say such a thing. It's not just a "do or don't do" issue. There's alot of complications involved with addiction.

 

Are you telling me people were forced to light up that first smoke? They were forced to smoke for 20 years and become "dependant" on nicotine? NO. They made that decision, they pay for it.

I have plenty of family members that have addictions, including 2 that were very close to me, one who killed himself and the other is currently in prison. I deal with my own faults, wanting to eat sugar and drink soda all day, and I know that if I don't stop myself and I get fat, or get whatever other health problem because of my lack of self control, I won't blame anyone but myself.

 

This has got to be one of the most stupid threads. Everyone is arguing back and forth, but no one here is going to change the other's mind. So hang it up and move on.

 

What gets me is the arrogance where everyone tries to justify his/her own vice. Yeah, smoking is bad, I smoke, I don't like it. But how do you deny someone care because of it? What's more damaging, overeating or smoking? Obesity is one of the leading causes of death, yet because so many people are obese, it becomes offensive to talk about it. I don't justify smoking cigarettes ... just saying: if you want to target smokers, don't forget the other voluntary vices which are raising everyone else's medical insurance bills as well.

 

Blogmaster, Mike, whatever you call yourself now , I agree completely. I'm sick of everyone crying about other peoples choices and never their own. I'm sick of no one taking personal responsibility for anything.

Kids don't kill because of video games, people aren't fat because of mcdonalds, and guns don't cause more murders. THE PEOPLE ABUSING what is available to them are the ones causing the problems.

This doctor has the CHOICE to help anyone or deny anyone he wants. GET OVER IT!

 

I don't think anyone in need of medical attention should ever be denied
Once they have been treated ... yeah, show them tough love and tell them how they're killing themselves, raise their insurance rates, whatever. But denying someone assistance is wrong IMO.

 

Doesn't the Hippopotamus oath say something about that?

 

haha that was this guy, right?

 

Yep......that Hippopotocrates was some guy.

 

I'm not saying they're trying to blame other people for their problems. Yes they make the choice to smoke, but that doesn't mean society should condemn them for it.

Most people don't actually make a decision to become addicted. Just about everybody tries something, enjoys it, and then gets carried away with it. It's part of life.

You can't just tell somebody to #%@$ off because they made a lifestyle choice.

Yes people should take responsibility for their actions. I'm not denying that alot of addicts will blame other people or things for their problems. I'm not denying that they made a choice to start smoking or drugs or whatever the situation may be. I'm not denying the fact that smoking and alot of other things available to us have been proven to cause serious health problems including death.

But just because they made a choice does not mean we should close the door on them.

One of the benefits of living in places like the UK or North America is the access to health services that simply aren't available in many other places around the world. Most of us taxpayers put alot of money up each year to pay for the medical system, and I for one would be damn pissed off if I was rejected by that system after paying 20% of my annual income into it for the last 10 years.

The medical system has been setup to HELP people. Not make them feel guilty about a bad habit and throw them out on their ass. If we're expected to contribute our money into this system, it's only fair that we have access to it.

 

Talk to me when you morons learn how to read.

Thanks,
Rob

 

I read it a long time ago, he wasn't denied care, he was denied a surgery when there's a perfectly good alternate to it, to quit smoking.

 

Nice job, yo-yo. You're no longer on my "List of Morons".

 

Indeed as I said this was not a good case to make that point, the doc felt the best form of action was to stop, not because he was a smoker but because it would be the best course of action to improve the illness and avoid surgery.

The objections with refusing to treat a smoker argument is still valid but not with this example.

 

Yeah.

But have smokers been denied treatment because they're smokers?