Yokel
LE
It costs billions to provide healthcare to people with all sorts of ailments. Some self inflicted, some mere misfortune, some inherited genetic defects, or whatever else.
Smoking tobacco, according to many medics, is the primary cause of all the woes of mankind, at least until you dig a bit and discover it's a useful coverall excuse to save resolving a totally unconnected ailment.
I smoke.
Almost two decades ago I'd a heart attack. Immediate medic response, caused by smoking. Secondary medic response, having asked a few questions, working 16 hour shifts, poor diet, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, stress, debts, and all the other joys of modern life, is not a good recipe for health. Cure those, then worry about smoking.
A decade ago I'd a stroke. First medic response, caused by smoking. Second medic response, from the surgeon, a weak blood vessel blew, because sometimes shit just happens, and it'd have blown whether or not I smoked.
Basically, medics are idle and pass people off with the most obvious excuse, rather than spend time and effort investigating.
Meanwhile the NHS spends vast sums pestering otherwise happy and healthy eldely people to undertake frequent tests for one thing or another, apparently to justify more tv ads for more donations for more research, ad infinitum.
Doing something that you derive pleasure from is life affirming for most of us. That can be sports, parachuting, flying, sailing, any number of dangerous pastimes, hazardous pursuits, or simply inhaling tobacco and swallowing alcohol.
Each will affect different people in different ways, all will eventually die, of something.
But smoking kills half of long term smokers. Tobacco smoke is full of chemicals that are toxic to every part of the human body. How or why should the medics investigate exactly what caused your heart attack or stroke? Most of these things are caused by a combination of things, and these things a cumulative. Their priority is on treatment.
I am not following your argument. Because preventative measures cannot prevent every heart attack, stroke, cancer, etc they should not try to prevent them.