Vapers and Healthcare

[briantodd20]

Hello all... I work in healthcare and I seemed to have sparked a little debate at work today among my non-vaping colleagues. Given that health and life insurance premiums are effected by one's history with traditional cigarettes, what happens to those of us who opt for e-cigarettes? Will we be subject to the same bias as tobacco users? Considering the misinformation, lack of understanding and unwillingness to even examine the data that I have experienced with healthcare providers, is an e-cig user just going to be considered a smoker and treated accordingly when being considered for life or health insurance? I would appreciate your thoughts.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[bazmonkey]

There was a similar thread from a day or two ago. The large majority of insurance companies consider a person who uses tobacco to basically be anyone with nicotine in their bloodstream.

Perhaps in the future this will change. However, in the short term I doubt it will, because of the lack of long-term studies demonstrating the safety (or lack) of e-cigarettes.

As former smokers (no one has switched to e-cigs "30 years ago" yet), we are still health liabilities. Like it or not we're more likely to die because of our past tobacco use. Given that, I'm not too hurt that it affects my insurance premium. I deserve it, ya know?

 

[briantodd20]

Thank you for your response. Sorry if I posted something that had been covered previously, It just occurred to me today while I was taking a patient history. I have to ask if a given patient is a smoker, and I have yet to hear someone tell me they vape but don't smoke. There's already quite a bit of ambiguity when I ask the illicit drug use question, and they tell me, "Well I use ............ Medically, does that count?"


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[InTheShade]

Well if someone asks me, I will reply that I no longer use tobacco products - and I will tell anyone within 200 yards, because I am proud. I will be ticking the non tobacco user box on my next insurance form for sure.

It's a whole area of contention, but I believe I am telling the truth when I say I no longer smoke.

 

[Discord]

...Like it or not we're more likely to die because of our past tobacco use.

I suspect our likelihood of death is about the same as everyone else, but I know what you mean