No it is not a catch 22.
Surgery is risky and it is more risky for patients who are smokers and who are obese.
If you want non-urgent surgery in this country, it is likely your surgeon will require you to stop smoking and possibly lose weight.
Socialized medicine forces those who
choose a healthy lifestyle to pay
for those who choose the opposite.
If this is the chosen path, then it
would make sense to not pay for
dentures because someone had not taken
care of their teeth, or treat a
prostitute for certain diseases because
of his/her profession. For me, it is a catch 22 because quitting smoking has
been shown to cause obesity in some
but not all cases.
What happens to those who have thyroid
problems where obesity is a direct
result, and is not treatable?
A doctors oath is to promote and
preserve life, not to choose who lives
or dies.