I'm going to first come out and say that I am very much biased on this subject; my friend has CF (cystic fibrosis) and he had been waiting and waiting and waiting to get his lungs, but, at the last minute a smoker with the same tissue type jumped the queue.
Needless to say, we were all PRETTY DAMN PI**ED OFF.
Personally, I think smokers are ridiculous. I don't understand why anyone would start smoking when they know the risks. And what annoys me more, is when some (I'm won't say 'all' so I don't offend anyone .. too much) smokers come crawling to the NHS. If you want to kill yourself and make yourself ill, fine, just don't come whining and whinging to me or the NHS. If you get bronchitis or emphysema, man up, shut up and put up.
Or, alternatively, cough up the money yourself and pay for treatment. Just don't expect me to give you my lungs if I die in an accident.
Hmm...better not mention that at a med school interview.
That's actually the main reason I won't join the organ donor list. I'll donate blood and bone marrow, but not organs if it's going to someone who put themselves in that position in the first place.
Apologies if I've offended anyone (and I reckon I probably have). But I genuinely don't understand why people start smoking and why some don't even try to stop. There are free kits and programmes on the NHS, so why not make use of them? I'd appreciate any smokers POV.
So, in the words of A level Religious Studies ... Discuss.