Smokers can cause themselves serious health problems. The choice to smoke is made freely and with knowledge of dangers.Smokers should therefore expect to pay more for medical treatment than non-smokers.

Smoking has long been scientifically proven to bear a pernicious effect on the health of smokers and non-smokers alike. As a result, governments worldwide have implemented countless measures to curb its use. While the act of charging smokers more for the use of medical facilities as compared to non-smokers is another laudable initiative, it may undermine the democratic fabric of our society.

On one hand, smokers threaten the health of non-smokers through passive smoking. Hence, compelling the former group to spend more in medical fees will compensate for the additional risk that they pose on society. Simultaneously, smokers are investing in the medical facilities which they are most likely to request in the future as they are beset by smoking-related illnesses in the likes of lung cancer. Thus, this policy ensures equity among the population and contributes in the smooth running of the health system.

However, it may simultaneously endanger the mechanics of a free and democratic society. Smokers are, indeed, likely to pay for hefty medical expenses in the long run as smoking takes its toll on their body. Therefore, forcing them to fork out in the present may appear unfair. Moreover, if this policy is enforced, medical practitioners may need to review their entire fee structures. This is due to the fact that if we follow the same argument concerning smoking, obese individuals who regularly indulge in fast food or other people who similarly fail to take good care of their physics should also be imputed with expensive hospital charges. Furthermore, restaurants or other organisations may exploit this trend by imposing an additional fee on smokers despite the fact that they often ill-treated by being advised to sit outside in the smoking area, even during winter. While all these plausible ensuing measures are most likely to discourage people from lighting up, they may amount to discrimination if extended to extreme situations.

To conclude, forcing smokers to spend more in regards to medical services is recommended if smoking is currently affecting a major proportion of the population. Otherwise, this regulation may negatively impact the human rights of those who take to cigarettes on a regular basis.