Conclusion: The purpose of the primary and secondary research was to examine the effects of obesity and smoking

on the growing costs in dollars of Canadian Health Care and to determine whether or not the Nelson student population would be in favour of a healthcare premium for smoking and obese individuals living in Canada. The expected outcome was that most academic journals and Nelson students would support the obligation of smokers and obese individuals to pay a health care premium for their lifestyle choices. Particularly for the primary research, the focus was strictly on whether or not their opinions concerning the potential healthcare premium were based upon their current health status. Additionally it was expected that the survey responses from the students would indeed reflect their health. The secondary research through the analysis of academic articles and experiments is beneficial to the social change of possibly increasing health care costs for obese and smoking individuals as it highlighted the negative impacts that these lifestyles have on health care costs for all Canadian citizens. These negative impacts included the increased health insurance costs and increased supplementary medical professional costs not covered by insurance (special surgeries and services), that are imposed on taxpayers and are largely due to the use of those who abuse the system (obese and smoking individuals)(Mela, 2008; Thalassinos, 2008). The secondary research also acknowledged the non-existent link between obesity and smoking and genetics and the existent link to choice (Mela, 2008; Thalassinos, 2008). Lastly the secondary research examined the numerous benefits of reducing the amount of smoking and obese individuals in society, which involved in the decrease of the prevalence of obese and smoking individuals, increased lifespans, less diseases, less or no second hand smoke, more active and physically fit workers and overall healthier future generations (Halibur, 2005; Scollo, 2008). Primary research was conducted through surveying Nelson High School students in grades nine through twelve. The BMIs of each participant was found (with an online BMI calculator) from the height and

weight that they provided on their survey. It was found that the sample population could be divided up into 3 sub categories: non-smoker, non-obese (BMI between 18.0 and 29.9), non-smoker, obese (BMI of 30 or greater), smoker, non-obese (BMI between 18.0 and 29.9). The results proved that 76% of students who agreed with the healthcare premium for obese individuals were non-obese and nonsmoking(Paniccia, Appendix 1.1). 24% of the students who agreed were smokers and not obese (Paniccia, Appendix 1.1). Lastly, 0% of the obese and non-smoking students agreed with the health care premium for obese individuals (Paniccia, Appendix 1.1). In terms of the healthcare premium for smoking Canadians, 87% of the students who agreed with it were non-obese and non-smoking, 13% of the students who agreed with it were obese and non-smoking and 0% of the non-obese and smoking students agreed with it (Paniccia, Appendix 1.2). Additionally, the mean, median and mode of the BMIs of the Nelson students came to 23.8kg/m2, 23.5kg/m2 and 23.0 kg/m2, respectively (Paniccia, Appendix 1.0). It was concluded from the statistical analysis of the mean, median and mode, that the majority of the sample student population had a healthy weight, therefore they were in favor of a healthcare premium for obese and smoking Canadians because they themselves would not be affected by it. All of the responses from each sub category reflected their current health status, which made the results biased. However, these responses could help drive social change and further support the implementation of the healthcare premium, as they indicate to the Canadian immigrants (citizens that are at least 40years old) how willing the majority of the a sample of the younger generation is to decrease the percentage of obese and smoking citizens and how willing they are to improve the overall health of the Canadian population. This research project is of great importance to the Canadian population as it highlights the positive and negative effects associated with the implementation of the health premium. The primary research specifically brings attention to the current health of the Canadian population (statistics provided on the survey) a well as the current health of a sample population of

teenagers. It would be important for one to take note of the health statuses of these teenagers for future use when considering ways to decrease the obese and smoking population in Canada. A limitation to this research project included the small sample size of 32 students. Resultantly, the data collected could not be interpreted to come to an accurate conclusion. Another limitation involved the sample location as it was only at Nelson High School. Results form various high schools in and outside of the Halton region would have exposed the survey to a wider range of health statuses, therefore decreasing bias. (Nelson had few obese and smoking individuals). Lastly the survey data could have been misinterpreted as it was quite easy for students to lie about their weight and/or height or they could have simply forget what the values were, resulting in inaccurate information being written and false BMIs being calculated. Before a potential health care premium would be put into effect for the entire Canadian obese and smoking population, further research could be done on a chosen sample population to test out the implementation of the extra medical cost. In other words, a trial run could be conducted for a city, then perhaps a province and if it is successful, it could become a countrywide project. Further research could also be conducted on adult and elderly Canadians because those of them who are currently obese and/or smoke, would be directly affected by this extra cost. A simple survey, similar to the one distributed for this study, could be given to a random sample population of Canadian adults and elderly citizens online or in the mail to receive their opinions on the topic. Further research could be conducted on the negative health effects of smoking and obesity because only the positive health effects were mentioned in this study. The numerous disadvantages to ones health caused by these lifestyle choices could potentially open the eyes of many Canadians and cause social change to happen in order to eliminate the negative effects. It would be important to further explore the implementation of the healthcare premium from an ethics perspective. New results from experiments are constantly arising

and new scientific theories are being formed on a weekly basis, therefore it is possible that scientists have found genes associated with smoking and obesity. If this is true, the extra medical cost would be unethical as the health conditions would be considered not controllable and predetermined. However if there is more research that supports the claim that the health conditions are linked to choices and not linked to genes, a health care premium for obese and smoking individuals could be considered ethical. The majority of the surveys supported the idea that the two health conditions are a result of ones lifestyle choices and not their genetic makeup, however, they are simply opinions. Research on scientific experiments and communication with scientists would provide more accurate and less biased information to interpret. In the end, the information that was collected from the survey research correlates well with the secondary research that was conducted. Therefore it can be concluded that, as it was originally hypothesized, most academic studies and Nelson students supported the obligation of smokers and obese individuals to pay a health care premium for their lifestyle choices. Additionally it discovered that the survey responses from the students do indeed reflect their current health statuses.