“It’s no long a question of staying healthy; it’s finding a sickness you like”

Comedian Jackie Mason (who grew up in New York City) said about growing older and staying healthy:
   
“It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a question of finding a sickness you like.”
 
It’s not known when Mason first said this, but the line has been cited in print since at least 1986.
 
   
Wikipedia: Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason (born June 9, 1931) is an American stand-up comedian and film and television actor. He is ranked #63 on Comedy Central’s 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all-time.
   
18 July 1986, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Medical guides hazard to health” by Angus Lind, pg. E-3, col. 1:
Someone once said, “It’s not a question of staying healthy—it’s a question of finding a sickness you like.”
 
Google Books
1,911 Best Things Anybody Ever Said
By Robert Byrne  
New York, NY: Fawcett, Columbine
1988  
Pg. 186:
259
It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a question of finding a sickness you like.
Jackie Mason
 
7 February 1988, Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), “Experts will tell positive, negative aspects of food” by Lisa Schab, sec. 5, pg. 1, col. 2:
It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a question of finding a sickness you like. —Jackie Mason
 
Google Books
Eat These Words:
A Delicious Collection of Fat-Free Food for Thought
By Michael Cader and Debby Roth
New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers
1991
Pg. 24:
It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a question of finding a sickness you like.
JACKIE MASON
 
Google Books
Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations
By Ned Sherrin
New York, NY: Oxford University Press
2008
Pg. 154:
It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a question of finding a sickness you like.
Jackie Mason 1931- ; attributed
 
Twitter
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Jackie Mason: It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a question of finding a sickness you like. | #Quotes
8:53 AM - 11 Dec 2015