As a European I enjoyed reading this, I think it is a nice illustration of some of the differences between Europe and the US without falling into the silly "US bad" or "Europe weird" rethoric.
But one thing struck me as very odd:
> One thing I found unusual was how many people regularly smoked in Europe. [...] I guess that’s one of the few downsides of universal healthcare.
The idea that people living in a country with universal healthcare would more easily indulge in risky behavior because they would not have to pay for medication or hospitalization is, frankly, nuts. It's hard to imagine Americans smoke less not because they are scared of dying painfully of lung cancer, but because they could not afford the medical expenses in case they do get cancer; but maybe this is the case?
All I know is that the idea of not having to pay for healthcare is not at all reassuring when I think about the risks associated with something I'm doing - be it smoking, driving, drinking or anything else.
But one thing struck me as very odd:
> One thing I found unusual was how many people regularly smoked in Europe. [...] I guess that’s one of the few downsides of universal healthcare.
The idea that people living in a country with universal healthcare would more easily indulge in risky behavior because they would not have to pay for medication or hospitalization is, frankly, nuts. It's hard to imagine Americans smoke less not because they are scared of dying painfully of lung cancer, but because they could not afford the medical expenses in case they do get cancer; but maybe this is the case?
All I know is that the idea of not having to pay for healthcare is not at all reassuring when I think about the risks associated with something I'm doing - be it smoking, driving, drinking or anything else.