Are we smokers or non smokers?

[Microlite]

Hi vapers,
If I'm filling in a medical or a life insurance form etc, and the question smoker or not is asked which box should I tick?

 

[Two_Bears]

Hi vapers,
If I'm filling in a medical or a life insurance form etc, and the question smoker or not is asked which box should I tick?

Since yoy are still using nicotine the only honest answer is smoker.

If you want to call the insurance company and ask them

 

[r77r7r]

Call them anonymously and ask them?

 

[retired1]

Depends on the company. You can call and ask what their policy is.

 

[Lannie]

Since yoy are still using nicotine the only honest answer is smoker.

If you want to call the insurance company and ask them

If you had quit smoking but were using patches or gum, would you still say you were a smoker? I wouldn't.

 

[retired1]

If you had quit smoking but were using patches or gum, would you still say you were a smoker? I wouldn't.

It's best to be honest, especially in the case of insurance. All it takes is one cotinine test to create issues that can be avoided from the start.

 

[Microlite]

Thanks Two_Bears that would be an honest answer but I'm more curious about the legal aspect. A few years back I attended a Give Up Smoking course at my GP's surgery, I attended every week for a month and then every 2 weeks. After 3 months I walked into the surgery with my e-cig and apologised for failing and that I was now on e-cigs.

The lady running the course said I had nothing to apologise for as I was now officially a non smoker and she considered my attempt to quit as a success.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

I don't smoke tobacco. My lab tests have all showed improvement since I quit smoking.

 

[zahzoo]

It depends on the specific wording of the question... and, of course, your usage of tobacco products.

Assuming you only vape and do not use any other tobacco products... cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc...

Do you smoke? No

Do you smoke tobacco products? No

Do you use tobacco products in any form? If in the US... and you vape... the answer would be yes. E-liquid is considered a "tobacco product" at present due to the nicotine content is derived from tobacco.

You can claim any "technicalities" you want... but at present, the reality within the insurance and medical industry is if you have nicotine in your system... no matter how it got there... you use tobacco products. Lie about it or get creative in your interpretation and you can risk denial or loss of coverage... should you fall ill and they can claim it was from any form of tobacco usage.

 

[Sir Kadly]

Since yoy are still using nicotine the only honest answer is smoker.

I would say the honest answer is non-smoker, since smoking is about burning tobacco, not about nicotine.

If you had quit smoking but were using patches or gum, would you still say you were a smoker? I wouldn't.

I also wouldn't, but...

It's best to be honest, especially in the case of insurance. All it takes is one cotinine test to create issues that can be avoided from the start.

And that's the issue right there, you see insurance companies don't care about honesty. They care about profit, and many of them find it profitable to use cotinine as a measure of if you are a smoker or not. Since cotinine build up in the blood as a result of nicotine usage, it doesn't matter if you actually smoke, what matters is their policy on cotinine testing to verify if you smoke.

So retired1 is correct, best thing to do is see how the insurance company defines smoking.

 

[Microlite]

Good point.
\\

 

[Microlite]

It would of course make sense to ask the insurance company whether they consider me a smoker or not and I would have no problem paying the additional costs to my policy if there were indeed any. I'm just curious what the e-cig community thought of this and where we stood legally.

 

[Lannie]

I don't know, I just think that once a person finally DOES quit smoking, they should quit being discriminated against as if they were STILL smoking. We're NOT smoking anymore. It's no different than the people who quit by using patches or gum, except in my opinion, it's easier. Does that mean we should still be castigated and reviled as "smokers?" Just because we haven't suffered enough? It seems wrong to me... but if there's a place on the form to write something in, I would say, "FORMER smoker, now quit using nicotine replacement therapy for the moment."

 

[Bunnykiller]

smoking is the act of consuming ( inhaling) a form of tobacco that has been processed thru the means of combustion.
So, if you are not burning tobacco and inhaling it, you are not smoking.
If the question on the form asks if you are a smoker, then the answer is no.
But, if the question asks if you use/consume nicotine, then its a different story...
If you eat eggplant, califlower, green peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, for example, you consume nicotine... ( since those do contain nic. Patches, gum, vaping also contain nic but no tobacco. Chew and dip do consist of tobacco but its not smoking.

 

[David Wolf]

Hi vapers,
If I'm filling in a medical or a life insurance form etc, and the question smoker or not is asked which box should I tick?

Vaping is not smoking, period. Vapers are not smokers unless they smoke as well. That's the honest answer. If they ask about using nicotine or tobacco products I would say yes.

 

[suprtrkr]

I think I would query the company. Technically you are a non-smoker. But insurance like nothing better than denying claims on technicalities, and retain battalions of high priced lawyers to this end. Better to not let it come up.

 

[93gc40]

I am a Smoker who vapes instead of smoking. An alcoholic or drug addict, who no longer partakes... Is still considered an addict and alcoholic.....

Why do we Former smokers think we are different just because we found a new way to feed our addictions? We are Non- smoker, yet they are still Addicts.

I guess it comes down to the truth is what ever makes you feel good about yourself.

 

[JCinFLA]

Just had my 6-month checkup with my doctor last Friday. HE classifies me as a "non-smoker" now. According to my medical records...it's noted that I "quit smoking Jan. 14, 2014. Currently using an ecigarette."

He's a really nice guy in addition to being a great doctor. He takes time to talk about all kinds of things with me, and my vaping has been one for 2+ years now. He's impressed and encouraged it's worked for me and always comments/notes in my records how my health has consistently improved. I've told him I'm "just a drop in the bucket" compared to how many people it's helped to quit...that he ought to check out the ECF to read many more success stories. I've also mentioned the issue of how to mark forms has come up on here...regarding smoking and vaping. He said for me personally, since I haven't had any cigarettes for 2+ years now...I'm a Nonsmoker.

 

[OlderNDirt]

In a society that is so adamantly opposed to discrimination of any kind, I find it absurd that society and the government not only allows, but encourages this level of discrimination. I have never seen it asked if I indulge in candy bars or drive in excess of the posted speed limit.

 

[suprtrkr]

In a society that is so adamantly opposed to discrimination of any kind, I find it absurd that society and the government not only allows, but encourages this level of discrimination. I have never seen it asked if I indulge in candy bars or drive in excess of the posted speed limit.

There's a difference in those discriminatory remarks. Don't you dare to diss a minority or a Muslim or LGBT person, but conservatives, Catholics, Jews and smokers are fair game.