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People give all kinds of reasons for why they started smoking， but none of them are good.
While some claim that you’re actually saving our overburdened healthcare system money in the long run by smoking because it reduces life expectancy1， it’s nowhere near a watertight2 argument.
First of all， you’re certainly not doing your family and friends a favor by deliberately3 lowering your life expectancy. In fact， your family will have to absorb4 the losses incurred5 when you miss work due to smoking-related illnesses. Second， there is a lot of debate over the best way to measure the economic costs of smoking.
Every study is based on different assumptions6， and uses different data and methods. For example， should you measure the cost of smoking by looking at the cost of treating major illnesses like lung cancer and heart disease， or should you also measure the cost of less serious illnesses？ Should you take into account the fact that people who live longer also pay more taxes and insurance premiums？ Should you look at the overall cost to the health care system， or at the cost per individual？
Anyway， no matter how you calculate them， the economic costs of smoking are inconsequential7 when compared to smoking’s real price： smoking caused by the deaths of over 400，000 people each year and the illnesses of several million.
人们总是为开始抽烟找各种理由，但是没有一种是好的。
有这样一种言论，抽烟缩短了预期寿命，从长远利益来说，是在为我们不堪重负的医疗医疗系统节约资金，但严格来说，这个观点是完全站不住脚的。
首先，刻意降低你的预期寿命，并不是在帮你家人和朋友的忙。事实上，当你由于患上了抽烟引发的疾病而失去工作时，你的家人便不得不承受由此造成的损失。其二，关于测量吸烟的经济成本的最佳方法还存在很多争议。
各项研究都基于不同的假设，而且使用了不同的数据和方法。例如，是否应该通过估量治疗如肺癌、心脏病等重大疾病的成本来计算抽烟的成本呢？还是说是通过估量不那么严重的疾病的成本来计算抽烟的成本呢？你考虑到了活得更加长久的人同时也需要支付更多的税费和保险的事实了吗？你是该考虑医疗系统的总成本，还是每个人的成本呢？
总之，不管你怎样计算，与抽烟实际代价相比，它的经济成本便微不足道了。抽烟酿成了每年40万人的死亡以及数百万人患病的悲剧。
While some claim that you’re actually saving our overburdened healthcare system money in the long run by smoking because it reduces life expectancy1， it’s nowhere near a watertight2 argument.
First of all， you’re certainly not doing your family and friends a favor by deliberately3 lowering your life expectancy. In fact， your family will have to absorb4 the losses incurred5 when you miss work due to smoking-related illnesses. Second， there is a lot of debate over the best way to measure the economic costs of smoking.
Every study is based on different assumptions6， and uses different data and methods. For example， should you measure the cost of smoking by looking at the cost of treating major illnesses like lung cancer and heart disease， or should you also measure the cost of less serious illnesses？ Should you take into account the fact that people who live longer also pay more taxes and insurance premiums？ Should you look at the overall cost to the health care system， or at the cost per individual？
Anyway， no matter how you calculate them， the economic costs of smoking are inconsequential7 when compared to smoking’s real price： smoking caused by the deaths of over 400，000 people each year and the illnesses of several million.
人们总是为开始抽烟找各种理由，但是没有一种是好的。
有这样一种言论，抽烟缩短了预期寿命，从长远利益来说，是在为我们不堪重负的医疗医疗系统节约资金，但严格来说，这个观点是完全站不住脚的。
首先，刻意降低你的预期寿命，并不是在帮你家人和朋友的忙。事实上，当你由于患上了抽烟引发的疾病而失去工作时，你的家人便不得不承受由此造成的损失。其二，关于测量吸烟的经济成本的最佳方法还存在很多争议。
各项研究都基于不同的假设，而且使用了不同的数据和方法。例如，是否应该通过估量治疗如肺癌、心脏病等重大疾病的成本来计算抽烟的成本呢？还是说是通过估量不那么严重的疾病的成本来计算抽烟的成本呢？你考虑到了活得更加长久的人同时也需要支付更多的税费和保险的事实了吗？你是该考虑医疗系统的总成本，还是每个人的成本呢？
总之，不管你怎样计算，与抽烟实际代价相比，它的经济成本便微不足道了。抽烟酿成了每年40万人的死亡以及数百万人患病的悲剧。