Chewing Just As Bad As Smoking

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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First, in case you don't know, let's go over the dangers - to health and insurance - of smoking cigarettes.

Smoking Risks

- In the United Sates, smoking is responsible for 90% of lung cancer in men and 80% in women.
- Of the more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes, over 1,000 of those are known to cause cancer.
- Lung cancer is 9th on the list of causes of death.
- 91% of people diagnosed lung cancer die from it.
- Smoking low tar or low nicotine cigarettes is not thought to decrease the chances of lung cancer.
- Smoking knocks an average of 13+ years off of a man's life. For women, it is nearly 15 years.

Also, cigarettes are super expensive. For most smokers, the amount spent each year on cigarettes could save more than 10,000 people a year from starvation. More than 50,000 a year from malaria.

Impact on Insurance

There is no question that smoking has a negative impact on your health and that it will show up on your insurance premiums. How much of an impact will it make? That varies from company to company.

Most estimates say that smoking cigarettes regularly ...
... will make premiums go up around 15% to 20%.

Furthermore, it can be hard to get really high amounts of coverage if you're a smoker.

Smoking often causes high blood-pressure, which makes premiums go up even higher.

Lying to Your Insurer

People in the insurance business claim that as many as 90% of smokers lie about it when applying for medical coverage.
The first two years of your policy allow for the insurance provider to cancel if you have lied or provided incomplete information on your application. So, if you have a smoking - related health problem - or even if they can argue that it is related - prepare to be dropped.

Furthermore, you will probably have to undergo a physical examination before your policy becomes active. A doctor will run blood tests, and if there is nicotine in your system, they will know.

Impact of Chewing in General

Chewing may not cause lung cancer, but it has a number of extreme health risks, including mouth cancer. To the insurance companies, it shows up as nicotine in your blood either way. To them, you are just a tobacco-user. For this reason, chewing often leads to 10-20% spikes in insurance rates.

But Each Insurance Company is Different

Some health insurance companies have special tiers of rates that correspond with different types and frequencies of tobacco use. Chewing once a month will come with a different penalty than smoking three times a day. With some companies, smokers with good cholesterol levels, healthy blood pressure, and normal body weight might get a better deal than a non-smoker with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and obesity. With other companies, maybe not.

If you aren't willing to give up smoking - and don't tell yourself you can't - there might be a company out there for you. In order to find them, you'll have to look around pretty hard.

If you are a chewer, there is a health insurance company out there for you. To find them, shop around online, ask around on the internet, and get free online health insurance quotes.