More than half said the NHS should not fund treatment if the illness was a consequence of smoking and patients should be forced to pay for it themselves.
The report questioned 4,000 UK adults about the cost of common procedures in the UK and whether it should be publicly funded.
The responses included:
One in 10 do not think someone who has abused alcohol should get a liver transplant on NHS
The same number said either they had lied to their doctor about being depressed, or knew someone who had, in a bid to get plastic surgery on the NHS
78 per cent believe people wanting IVF treatment should either contribute towards it or foot the bill entirely
Last year more than 1.4 million people used NHS drug and alcohol services including rehabilitation, at a total cost of £136 million.
But it seems most Britons believe this should be stopped, with an overwhelming 85 per cent saying alcoholics should pay for their own treatment.
And more than half (52 per cent) think the NHS should not fund treatment if the illness was a consequence of smoking.
This is because they feel the NHS is already too stretched to tend to people's needs if the damage has been self-inflicted.
Meanwhile, one in 10 of us argue the government should not provide a liver transplant as a result of abusing alcohol.
A quarter believe alcoholics should contribute to the operation, while 43 per cent think it should be free only if they are clean for more than three months prior to the transplant.
But the study, carried out by the Benenden National Health Report 2015, revealed how people were willing to con medical officials so they could have treatment paid for by the public purse.
Shockingly, nearly one in ten say they have lied to their doctor or know someone who has lied about being depressed in a bid to get plastic surgery to boost their confidence.
The report also highlights our ignorance when it comes to the cost of NHS care.
Liver transplants were estimated to cost £12,279 per operation, when in fact they were almost six times more at £70,000 for the surgery.
Abdominal hernia surgery, of which 7,489 low risk ones were carried out last year, was thought to cost £1,609 rather than the £2,281 in reality.
Half of us (48 per cent) thought fewer than 2,500 gastric band by-passes and procedures were carried out by the NHS each year.
However, in reality the actual figure was more than double at 5,443 - costing the NHS over £25 million in 2014.
And it seems IVF is low on our list when it comes to what our health service should prioritise.
More than three quarters of those polled said hopeful parents should either contribute towards the cost of the treatment or foot the bill entirely.
Almost half believed it costs less than £500 for women to have a natural birth in hospital, without any complications.
And the average cost of a natural birth was estimated to be £1,288 - which is more than £500 short of the true figure of £1,824.
Medical Director of Benenden, Dr John Giles, said: 'I suspect most people view diseases caused by excessive drinking and smoking as being self-inflicted and therefore potentially avoidable.
'They probably feel that they should not have to pay the price for the consequences of the poor choices of others.
'It comes as no surprise that the public has a staggering and destructive ignorance regarding the cost of treatments on the NHS.
'As a nation we have lost touch with the role we should play in our own health and wellbeing, expecting the NHS to pick up the pieces.
'If the public was more aware of the cost of appointments, treatments, operations and prescriptions, and really took responsibility for their own health, using the NHS only when absolutely necessary, the crisis the service finds itself in today would be significantly lessened.'
And the average cost of a natural birth was estimated to be £1,288 - which is more than £500 short of the true figure of £1,824.
Medical Director of Benenden, Dr John Giles, said: 'I suspect most people view diseases caused by excessive drinking and smoking as being self-inflicted and therefore potentially avoidable.
'They probably feel that they should not have to pay the price for the consequences of the poor choices of others.
'It comes as no surprise that the public has a staggering and destructive ignorance regarding the cost of treatments on the NHS.
'As a nation we have lost touch with the role we should play in our own health and wellbeing, expecting the NHS to pick up the pieces.
'If the public was more aware of the cost of appointments, treatments, operations and prescriptions, and really took responsibility for their own health, using the NHS only when absolutely necessary, the crisis the service finds itself in today would be significantly lessened.'
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Health