Ex smoker, life & health insurance, and piss tests

[Yankee802]

Ok, here is a question. At one time I had quite smoking for awhile, and durring that time I had gotten life insurance. They sent over a nurse and took blood and urine (to test for nicotine). Because I had quite before that point, I was able to get the "Non-smoker" rate.

Ok, now I AM a "Non-smoker" (14 days now) but of course vape, and it contains nicotine. My question to any that can answer is this:

When taking a health exam for any kind of insurance (or job for that matter), what are or will be the policies for those that vape?

Being "non-smokers" we should qualify as such. If the (and another reason I'm against it) FDA classifies e-cigaretts as tobacco products, we will be back to being classified as "smokers"

I guess the only solution to this is quit vaping (as well as smokig), or 0mg juice.

We need to start thinking about this and related issues and get proactive in setting policies and laws.

Thoughts?

 

[VapingRulz]

I think that for insurance purposes, nicotine in the blood or urine means you are a smoker. It's not right because you could be on the patch or gum for a year or more and still qualify as a smoker; ditto for vaping.

They need to stop testing for the presence of nicotine because while it is a drug like caffeine, it is not a carcinogen and it does not damage the heart, lungs, arteries - thus shorten the lifespan - like smoking does.

 

[AaronCooper]

If you really would like to understand the correct time within which there are chances of tobacco to get detected in your body, then you should first understand the amount of the drug you consume. The next thing that you have to know is the frequency in which you consume the toxin. Once you are clear of the amount and frequency in which you are consuming the drug, it’s very easy to understand how long does nicotine stay in your system.

Let us get into more details. If you take meager amounts of the toxic drug or if you are in the habit of taking infrequent doses or if you have got habituated to tobacco usage within the last six months, then, traces of the toxic substance can be detected in your system for approximately 20 or more days. But if you are going to undergo a urine drug test, then the drug test would be able to detect toxin traces in your body if only the urine drug test was performed within two to three days since you consumed the drug.

Maybe that can help you out a little..

 

[Diablo1399]

Just say that you've quit using nicotine replacement therapy.

 

[geeker]

But he/she got life ins as a nonsmoker. If he quit using NRT, that would mean at smoe point they were smoking. I think you're going to have to vape 0mg for a couple of days in advance of your test. You can get cotinine (the metabolite of nicotine) urine tests that are similar in format to a pregnancy test. Maybe get some of those and see how long the nic stays in your system.

 

[BHedge]

Actually nicotine causes blood vessels to constrict and can cause increases in blood pressure, and presumably heart problems after sustained use for many years. Smoking included tons of other drugs that included carcinogens, and we think it the main culprit in the heart disease/emphysema that results from smoking cigarrettes.

But is nicotine going to be like caffeine, or is it's effect more harmful. We won't know until someone studies it.

Good news though....if you can change to 0 Nic juice for about 5 days before the test, you should test negative for nicotine.

 

[optsmk]

Try ordering 0 nic juice. If you like it for a short period of time you can use it for a week before you have to get tested. I have never tried 0 nic juice, and maybe the lack of nicotine would drive me crazy. But for insurance purposes it might be worth trying.

 

[skipjenkins]

Or, just use synthetic urine...

 

[nasti]

you will need to have stopped smoking for 5years to qualify for non-smoker rates with insurance.

I believe cigarette smoking leaves trace amounts in the blood stream and will keep affecting internal organs for many years after you have quit. I found a timeline somewhere in this forum but cant find it now...

 

[pipe6078]

with insurance full disclosure is mandatory. please don't try to beat test they have checks and if you go into emergcy and some checks your done.... they so don't want to pay better to pay for smokers rates than have coverage denied....sold insurance i quit after 2yrs because it is such a scam

 

[gashin]

Get one of those well-reviewed Detox drinks or figure out a nice way with a condom . Condoms in between 2 sets of underwear warm up the urine to body temperature - not that I have any personal experience or anything.

 

[pipe6078]

herbal detox and homemade remedys up against science that knows you from skin cells. please understand this hits you blindside when your just nor prepared. i've seen job loss, loss of coverage failure to pay that lead to forclosure......don't mean to rant
;liberty to all ,but there is

 

[OMB]

So...what happens when I DO really quit analogs totally??? I work in a smoke-choked casino...and I have no way to limit myself to the (very small) non-tobacco area. My Dr. once told me if I quit smoking...I'd be down to 2 paks a day working at a casino...lol.

 

[LostInDaJungle]

NORML has a nice section on how to beat a pee test. The same rules apply... Lots of water, never the first stream of the morning, etc...

The point is to dilute the Urine so you get a low enough PPM to pass. At a low level it's hard to tell second hand smoke from a smoker.

However, I'm with Pipe, you don't want to get into an accident and have your coverage suddenly pulled because you didn't disclose that you were a smoker. You're going to have to lie to your doctors, etc... It just isn't worth it.

 

[DeaninSJ]

I don't know how tobacco smoking has affected my insurance rates, honestly. But i've been vaping (with a slip for a couple of days last week) for about two+ weeks. Last Friday, my doctor wrote in my chart "patient recently quit smoking". AND my blood pressure was so low, he reduced my BP medication and asked me to keep a close check on it because the meds may have to be reduced further.
Whatever this is it's working.
Clearly the debate about vaping being "healthier" is going to go on and on. But, for me, it is NRT, just as a patch or gum would be.

 

[Kate51]

My Humble Opinion, it's NOT the nicotine, it's the smoke! I too had blood tests for insurance, but there was NOT a nicotine test. I am a non-smoker. Using 12mg/ml nicotine. That's all! (And my cholesterol a little high, not major..)

 

[the86d]

How many employees are employed at the company you wish to be employed by?

My employer pays my premiums, (although I have to cover the kids') and I have just recently started hearing about rates vs. smoking on this forum. I didn't even think about it until this.

Is this just small companies? 1099 employment? Everybody now? (I just hit my 10 year mark where I work, so things have probably changed.)