Leave it to a Vanderbilt economist to figure out that smokers are actually helping society by…dying sooner. Yessiree. From the Salt Lake Tribune:
Vanderbilt University economist Kip Viscusi studied the net costs of smoking-related spending and savings and found that for every pack of cigarettes smoked, the country reaps a net cost savings of 32 cents.
“It looks unpleasant or ghoulish to look at the cost savings as well as the cost increases and it’s not a good thing that smoking kills people,” Viscusi said in an interview. “But if you’re going to follow this health-cost train all the way, you have to take into account all the effects, not just the ones you like in terms of getting your bill passed.”
I love studies like this, but not because it’s any sort of ground-breaking proof that my entire ideology is right by any means. I just like seeing liberal do-gooders get annoyed.
