Smoking is the most preventable cause of ill health in Britain today. With reference to specific smoking related illnesses and ethical issues, discuss whether smokers should have the same access to the limited resources of the National Health Service.

Tobacco is the only legally available consumer product that kills people when it is used entirely as intended. Killing about 300 people a day in the UK alone, this is like a plane crashing every day and killing all of its passengers, more than 13 people an hour. Currently smokers are entitled to the same treatment as non smokers but there is controversy about whether smokers should have to pay a premium to use the NHS because they are bringing the illnesses upon themselves and placing an unnecessary financial burden on the rest of society…(short extract)