The NHS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The NHS - Essay Example This free treatment policy of the NHS needs to be revised, as this is not only unfair to the taxpayers but is likely to bring economic collapse to the NHS budget with the increasing number of diabetic and cancer patients (Hardman, 2012). Diseases of lungs cancer, diabetes, and metabolic syndromes are the ones which require expensive and prolong medical treatment. Lungs cancer is the most known form of cancer which can cause malfunctioning lungs of patients and could also result in a painful death. Doctors researching on this ailment have clearly stated that 90% of the lung cancer is due o cigarette smoking or tobacco consumption. As the number of active smokers have increased, so is the rate of lung cancer, and there is no other major factor contributing to this disease (Groves, 2012). Report of the American Lung Association on world diseases, reveals that the among all cancer deaths including Breast and Colon cancer, lung cancer has the highest number of deaths (American Lung Associ ation, 2013). In the course of just 50 years, this disease has taken lives of more than 6.5 million people in the UK alone. The major reasons for this is the contribution of globalization, which has hundreds of cigarette, cigar and tobacco manufacturing companies, which has decreased the prices of these drugs and has made it easily accessible to everyone (Cancer Research UK, 2012). The other reason is the lack of government attention on this matter and the failure of introducing applicable and futuristic policies. In the ongoing debates to whether the NHS should change its funding and free treatment policies for lung cancer patients, these facts can provide a firm ground to the argument of restricting those funds. In this regard, Phillip Lee, a GP practitioner, raised the point that if the government kept paying for smokers and diabetic patients, it is in a way encouraging other smokers. He said in the NHS conference (2012) that people are free to consume whatever they wish for, but only at the cost of their own money. If the NHS is not going to cut down the treatment expenses funded to the smoking patients, then there is no way the country will get rid of smoking health disorders (Groves, 2012). It is evident from these facts that the disease of lung cancer is due to the bad appetite choice and smoking habit of the patient. Moreover, these people have harm the health of other people in their surroundings, as anyone who inhales the smoke of cigarette is also affected to some extent. Medical researchers have outlined the fact that passive smokers, the ones who are exposed to cigarette smokes of a smoker, have more chances to develop lung cancer than those who are not (Groves, 2012). This explains that smokers have not only put their lives on risks, but also the lives of many others who come in the vicinity of their smoking zone. One encouraging fact for these smokers is their free treatment from the healthcare budget of the country (Groves, 2012). The purpose o f providing free medical treatment to patients is to help those who cannot afford for the medical expense of their diseases or disorders, which have developed naturally or accidently and they are not the ones responsible. Providing this facility to lung cancer patients will not make them realize their act of ignorance and immorality. Therefore, if individuals who are addicted to smoking or tobacco are