Smoking not only burns your health, it burns your wealth too

Dr Dominique Stott, Chief Medical Officer at Liberty.

World No Tobacco Day, celebrated on 31 May, is an initiative aimed at creating awareness on the impact tobacco has on cardiovascular health worldwide. Tobacco use is an important risk factor to heart disease, strokes and peripheral vascular disease. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, are an expensive habit on your general health (both as an active and passive smoker) and wallet.

"The onus to drive educational conversations around stopping smoking is beyond the tobacco companies." says Dr Dominique Stott, Chief Medical Officer at Liberty.

Long term insurers also need to play a role by confronting this important global issue.

"The cost of this habit isn’t only limited to a lower disposable income and social alienation. As a smoker, you will also pay significantly more for your insurance risk cover – up to double in some cases. Smoking increases your risk of a variety of types of cancer. Smokers are also more likely to suffer heart attacks or cardiovascular disorders, and are more likely to be diagnosed with respiratory diseases and ultimately face a higher risk of death at any point in time than non-smokers." says Dr Stott.
The long term insurance industry recently released its claim statistics for the year 2017. Liberty paid out R4,6 billion in claims, and cancer remains the leading cause for claims at 24.3%, followed by cardiac and cardiovascular conditions at 19.8% of all claims.

Cancer affected all age and social groups; making up 16% of all claims for Young Achievers also known as Millennials, 21% for Young Parents, 26% for Established Providers and 25% for Empty Nesters.

Dr Stott shares some harmful health factors and financial effects relating to smoking:

Smoking impacts your health and well-being

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation SA, smoking doubles the risk of strokes, triples the risk of heart and cardiovascular diseases, and leads to numerous forms of cancer. The Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa further classifies smoking as the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, after high blood pressure. Shocking statistics indicate that tobacco use is the single biggest cause of death globally, killing 1 in 10 adults worldwide and 1 person every 6 seconds.

In addition the risk of a non-fatal heart attack increases by 5.6% for every cigarette smoked and persists even at only one to two cigarettes per day. Therefore smokers are at a higher risk of death and disability, which all affect insurability.

Interesting claims related to tobacco

Smoking increases your risk of a variety of types of cancer - including cancer of the mouth, lungs, stomach, kidney and bladder.

Switching to e-cigarettes still a concern

Following the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine published report earlier this year, in-depth discussions are still on the rise regarding the use of e-cigarettes, particularly by teenagers and young adults to quit smoking.

"We don’t believe e-cigarettes are necessarily any healthier than normal cigarettes. The key difference between conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes is that e-cigarettes don’t contain tobacco. But, it isn’t just the tobacco in cigarettes that causes cancer, cardiovascular diseases, etc. Conventional cigarettes contain chemicals that are proven harmful, and while e-cigarettes might have lower levels of these chemicals, they still contain some of these. Nicotine is one of the chemicals found in both conventional and e-cigarettes. It is highly addictive and has been shown to reduce bone health." adds Stott

According to an analysis done by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, e-cigarettes “contained detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals to which users could be exposed.” Since e-cigarettes also contain many of the same toxic chemicals as normal cigarettes, there is no reason to believe that they will significantly reduce the risks for these diseases.

Underwriting smokers

The price difference in premium rates between smokers and non-smokers can be as much as double, depending on your age and gender.

In relation to risk cover, Liberty regards clients as smokers if they have used tobacco in the last six months. This includes all forms of tobacco, including cigarettes, pipes, snuff, cigars, hubbly bubbly, and any other associated products. Clients who smoke are offered smoker rates at inception, but the option exists to change to non-smoker rates at a later stage if the customer quits smoking.

"Tobacco smoking is a major focus because it is central to the myriad of health problems. This day holds great relevance and it's imperative we join in on such conversations in improving and helping our clients avoid medical risks associated with the dangers of smoking," concludes Stott.