Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
‘Weight loss drugs pay for themselves’ says reader
KT (MetroTalk, Thu) complains at their taxes paying for other people’s weight-loss treatments – but it actually makes sound economic sense.
Healthier people are able to work longer, thus contributing more in taxes themselves, while obese people are more likely to suffer weight-related illnesses, which are themselves a drain on NHS resources.
There is no call to vilify those carrying extra weight. Anybody can fall into bad habits and we all make unwise choices from time to time.
So long as the people treated are able to make the lifestyle changes required to remain healthy afterwards, this represents a net gain. The drugs quite literally pay for themselves. Julian Self, Wolverton
‘Public services are not lacking in empathy’, reader defends weight loss drugs being provided on the NHS
What a closed-minded question KT posed. By that logic, we might as well ask why should my taxes pay for NHS services for people with drug addictions, for NHS costs relating to alcohol-fuelled driving accidents or for NHS treatment of other people’s anxiety and depression?
Are you among those who believe that anxiety and depression exist simply due to a lack of willpower?
Public services are not self-interested and lacking in empathy. Mike, Manchester
Is characteristic British compassion being ‘distorted’ by ‘malevolent’ politicians?
Adrian (MetroTalk, Wed) asks why Gaza children are being brought into ‘destitute’ Britain for NHS treatment when they ‘should be sent to oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia’.
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Who told him the UK is destitute? We are far wealthier and more powerful than Saudi Arabia in every respect.
Also, we are ceaselessly proclaiming how generous, welcoming, tolerant and compassionate we are.
Perhaps this characteristic of Britishness is rapidly being destroyed by the utterly distorted and deceitful malevolence of some politicians and their altogether too-keen followers – and being replaced by spitefulness, bigotry,intolerance and fanaticism. Saif Deen, Luton
‘Does it matter who gets on first?’ This reader prefers not to queue for buses
Richard (MetroTalk, Wed) would like to bring back queuing at bus stops. Personally, I don’t miss queues and prefer to wait away from the road, anyway.
In the 1970s it was not uncommon for buses to become full so you couldn’t get on. This rarely happens nowadays, which shows how much better the bus services are. If the bus isn’t going to be full, does it matter who gets on first? Nick, London
More on ‘anti-social’ device users on public transport
I totally agree with Agatha (MetroTalk, Wed) that anti-social, selfish viewers without headsets on public transport are a menace.
I don’t bother trying to reason with them and just stand over their shoulder and comment on what they’re watching. Seems to work. Tony, Bognor Regis
Some quality comedy here
I loved the Nigel Farage cartoon (Metro, Thu), picturing him saying ‘Get me an AI company, I’d never have to go to Clacton again’. To which a colleague replies ‘Again?’
It’s a struggle these days to know where to start in Metro: cartoon, MetroTalk jokes or Rush Hour Crush. All quality products.Mark, Staines
Remembering Hiroshima
It is now 80 years since the two atomic bombings of Japan (Metro, Thu) and we should remember the consequences.
On a recent trip to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and park, it was so easy to see how horrible the bombing was for everyone.
It is an event that should never happen again and yet Vladimir Putin has mentioned the possibility of a nuclear attack and the bombs are still ready to go.
As the saying goes, ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’ – and those that ignore it and make threats are evil. Dennis Fitzgerald, by email
Do pets get better health treatment than humans?
I have worked in the NHS for 24 years now. I cut my head quite badly last week, which needed some stitches.
Put off by a five-hour wait, I did not bother.
Meanwhile, my dog cut its pad quite badly two weeks ago. I was in and out of the vet’s in less than an hour and it only cost £70.
I would gladly have paid this to have my head stitched.
This implies animals get a better service.
More on from this, my other dog had an aggressive mast-cell tumour a few years back. This was diagnosed and operated on in just three days. The NHS would never match this… Anon, by email
