Ian Mather, I hope the bit where I said "Everyone should be treated free at the point of delivery, without fear or favour" was clear enough.

That includes smokers, drinkers, the obese, the elderly, everyone who needs treatment. That's what we've got the NHS for.

Yes I know the NHS is a tax based system, which is why I was talking about tax. In addition to the normal tax that everyone else pays, smokers and drinkers also pay a very percantage high tax on the tobacco and alcohol. Sorry if this was unclear.

30% of the entire NHS budget is spent on treating smoking related illness? Really? I'd be very interested in seeing the figures for that, if you can point me to where you got them.

Apologies if I expressed myself somewhat clumsily. Someone has raised the suggestion that if someone sustains an injury as a result of alcohol, they should pay for the treatment. My point was that they already pay for it.