Does vaping qualify as smoking? For life insurance companies it does, and that means it’s costing you money you should not be paying. The situation is no different in Canada, where vaping is also qualified as smoking in regards to getting yourself insurance. Lots of ludicrous accusations have been thrown at electronic cigarettes, from claiming that e-cigarettes increase teen smoking rates to implying that flavors were targeted towards children, and they all have played a role in swaying the public opinion. Anti-tobacco groups and opportunistic lobbyists have urged officials to impose tight restrictions on nicotine vaporizers. The FDA has increased the commenting time before passing their first set of regulations but at this time, e-cigs are very much likely to be considered a tobacco product.
Life insurance companies charge premium rates to smokers, obviously due to higher mortality rates. Because of the ongoing accusations that e-cigs can pose unknown long-term risks, life insurance services are not about to change their policies at the blink of an eye. They have not yet acknowledged the devices as being cessation aids and a vaper will be charged the same rate as a smoker with almost every insurance company nationwide. According to a Business Week article discussing the subject at a conference, the majority of insurance companies said they did not yet have policies specifically regarding e-cigs.
Additionally, they mentioned that all insurance companies currently could not tell the difference between an e-cigarette user and a smoker with the cotinine tests used. The cotinine is a product of metabolizing nicotine found in the urine and blood after vaping nicotine e-liquid or smoking tobacco, making it impossible to differentiate between the two without being able to determine the source of the nicotine. Some smokers will always attempt to lie to insurance companies to get a better rate, and testing will remain the best medium to protect themselves. Unfortunately, if they do not find a solution to this challenge, we will most likely not see better rates for e-cig users anytime soon.
E-cigs also have not been around long enough to instill trust in many corporations, fearing that long term risks exist or that nicotine intake in users may drastically increase, but that has also been debunked. Only time and further studies being released will eventually lead to better policies, hopefully sooner than later and the first step will be the upcoming FDA rulings. As time goes by, the image is becoming clearer that health officials are starting to promote the alternative as a healthier choice. The momentum is growing and support is flowing in worldwide.