Health Insurance May Soon Cost Less For Vapers

Article from ChurnMag.com
Learn Why Health Insurance May Soon Cost Less For Vapers - ChurnMag





After years of charging vapers the same rates as smokers, one company is starting to change that

For almost as long as vaping has been on the market, it has been a point of contention that vapers are charged the same amount for insurance as smokers. Insurance companies have regularly been testing people for nicotine, and not delineating between nicotine from cigarettes and nicotine from replacement therapies, such as vaping. The difference in cost, for the same coverage, is staggering. It is especially baffling considering that vaping has been proven to be substantially safer than smoking.

In England, however, this is starting to change. Insurance companies are now acknowledging the benefits and effectiveness of vaping, allowing users to get life and critical illness insurance at non-smoker rates. Great Britain has led the way in updating their stances on vaporizers to reflect the truth of these products, and this is another massive step in the right direction.

How We Got Here

Great Britain has supported vaping for several years now, spreading knowledge about its relative safety and effectiveness, as well as supporting it as a smoking cessation tool. As a result, the population of vapers in the UK has been growing at a much higher rate than that of other countries. While vaping has a much better reputation in Great Britain than it does in other countries there are still some widespread misunderstandings about vaping, and it seemed that insurers were willing to take advantage of that. A survey taken just last year showed that the majority of vapers were not aware that vaping increased their insurance rates.

It was not uncommon to see vapers paying smoker’s insurance rates, which on average are double what a non-smoker pays. For instance, on a £200,000 life insurance plan would cost a vaper £38.90 a month where a non-smoker would only be required to pay £16.06 for the same program with the same company.

Turning Tide

While issues like this run rampant around the world, it seems that now vapers in Great Britain can find fairly priced insurance option that reflects the harm reduction steps they’ve taken. Founder of Future Proof, a site which allows vaper’s to compare plans directly, David Mean said: “We wanted to bring an easy to use price comparison site to help vapers save money.” A spokeswoman for the UK Vaping Industry Association had this to say “This is fantastic news for vapers all across the UK who will finally be given fair treatment. It is a great sign to see that one of the most risk-averse industries is finally acknowledging the health evidence and is moving away from treating vapers as smokers.”

It was in 2015 that Public Health England released a report that found vaping to be at least 95% safer than smoking. The years since have led to a plethora of studies which support this idea and even found more supporting evidence. One team found that the excess cancer risk of a vaper is 57,000 times lower, as opposed to a smoker of comparable background. Great Britain, following the facts, has been a leader in supporting their citizens in vaping to promote a tobacco-free tomorrow.

Implications

It is refreshing to see companies, and countries as a whole, take steps to make the benefits of vaping even more enticing to smokers. Safety and Harm reduction are not the only things vaping has to offer. A team of researchers out of the University of Louisville stacked vaporizers up against other nicotine replacement therapies. This included nicotine gums, patches, and even prescription drugs. Of all these options vaporizers had the highest success rate of helping people quit smoking long term.

It is important that we as a community stand together to make sure that fellow vapers are treated with the respect they deserve. This step is huge for vapers in Great Britain, but discrimination against vapers in the form of high insurance costs is still flagrantly taking place around the world. The best way to combat this is to let your voice be heard. Spread the truth about vaping and educate those mislead by the media and sensationalized rumors. Then we will be able to take steps forward, around the world, to end the smoking epidemic once and for all.

Is it fair for vapers to pay the same for insurance as smokers? Do you think this will start a larger movement around the world? What do you think is the best way to improve the public perception of the benefits of vaping. Let us know what you think in the comments, and don’t forget to check back here or join our Facebook and Twitter communities for more news and articles.