A recent poll says 26.4 percent of people in the Indianapolis-Carmel metro area smoke. Personal finance site NerdWallet analyzed how much smokers pay for life insurance and how long after quitting it takes for their rates to return to normal.
They found on average, smokers pay 351 percent more for life insurance than non-smokers. Also quitting for just one year can save former smokers a significant amount of money. Quitting smoking for an entire year reduces the average premiums for men and women $1,228 and $846 respectively.
The average annual life insurance rate for a nonsmoker is $570 for men and $434 for women.
“Its obvious smokers pay a lot more for life insurance, but this study wants to examine if you quit smoking how long you’d have to see your insurance premiums come down. The main takeaway for this study is if you quit for more than five years, your life insurance rates will decrease as if you were a non-smoker,” said Jeffrey Chu, analyst for NerdWallet.
He added that in his research he also found smokers who use nicotine gum patches, lozenges or nasal sprays also see a hike in insurance rates.
Studies show smoking racks up numbers in multiple areas. According to the American Lung Association, smoking cost the U.S. over $193 billion in 2004, including $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in direct health care expenditures, or an average of $4,260 per adult smoker.
Smoking also significantly affects basic health care costs.
Miranda Spitznagle, director for the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission at the Indiana State Department of Health said high costs does affect smokers’ behavior. She said another deterrent for smokers – or to prevent people from starting smoking – is the increase in a package of cigarettes. A pack of cigarettes in Indiana is estimated at $5.77 plus tax.
“The smoking rate is 21.9 percent or a little more than 1-in-5 adults that smoke. That’s the lowest rate we’ve had in Indiana,” said Spitznagle. “So we’ve seen a decline over the years in adult smoking rates.”
She said that decline is due to factors such as the State’s increase in awareness efforts, increases in smoke-free environments and more resources to help people quit.
She encourages smokers to quit and suggests they call the Indiana Tobacco Quit line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW and talk with a trained quit coach.
She also said smokers who want to quit can go online to Equitnow.com to access services. Gathering a support network and/or a “quit buddy” has also proven beneficial to smokers who want to quit.
Spitznagle said from a cost perspective, there is many online tools to help the smoker see how expensive smoking is. She said many people use these tools, quit smoking and use the savings on things like a vacation or an expensive item.
“The main takeaway is to stop smoking. It’s not a very economical habit to have,” added Chu.
Experts encourage smokers to not give up in their quest to quit when abandoning smoking gets tough. Smoking is a highly-addictive product, which is why they suggest professional resources for cessation.
For more information, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit Equitnow.net/Indiana.
For more information on the report, click here.
