Going To No Tobacco Class At Work

[mp31guitar]

A few of us who use tobacco are required to take no smoking classes to quit before our insurance increases 25 percent. I can give up the cigs but I like to dip Skoal straight while I work. I'm a contractor and most of our work is outside. I dip all day and I hide it where no one can see it and don't spit. I also love my pipes when I'm not working. Looks like I'm in for an increase. We've been forced to look at awful pictures of people losing half there face, leg amputations and such. The way I see it, im a grown man who is capable of making my own decisions as to what I put in my body. I could rant some more but I'm typing this on an iphone.

 

[jitterbugdude]

Do they have a class where they make the non smokers look at pictures of Alzheimer's Patients and Parkinson's Patients?.... it's only fair
Do they also have a class where they make non smokers look at English pipe smokers (because they live longer than non pipe smokers)?
Do they also have a class for the non tobacco users showing them pictures of snus users? They should because the EU just granted a waiver (for Sweden) for snus use in the EU after an extensive study of the literature showed there were no health issues from consuming Swedish snus.
Do they also make non cigar smokers look at pictures of people that smoke (and don't inhale) 2 cigars a day? They should because people that smoke 2 cigars a day live longer than non smokers.

 

[metarzan]

They need a morbidly obese class and a 1000% increase to their insurance.

 

[fadingdaylight]

This country really has taken a turn for the worse. Where are the "Dangers of McDonald's" classes? You know what would really help reduce deaths, mandatory defensive driving training. Car accidents are still the leading cause of death, yet we rush our children into their steel coffins as we curse the devil plant tobacco. Makes me sick. Smokers, even heavy cigarette smokers, who walk or ride bicycles have a much better chance of a long life than a tobacco nazi who commutes to work. Best of luck mp3, sorry to hear about this BS.

 

[woodsroad]

All good stats, jitterbug. Got cites that I can pass along? Giving the anti's anecdotes doesn't cut the mustard.

 

[hawke]

What bothers me most is that the insurance companies are not concerned about health at all. The same way they are not concerned about saving our life when they sent lobbyist to influence lawmakers on the wearing of seat-belts.
What they care about is nothing other than ...money.

 

[brian64]

An anti-tyranny class would be nice...in that way focusing on something that is the primary threat to everyone's well being.
I've tried to make the point before that the issue of health insurance is going to be an even greater threat to the affordability of tobacco use than FDA regulations will be.

 

[dochudson]

if you don't like what the folks want you to do who cut your paycheck you can always move..
comparing seat-belts to smoking? a car load of 5 HS kids split the car they were driving in half about a mile up the road last week... the two with seat-belts walked up to the farmers house to call for help.. the 3 without their seat belt on were already dead.

 

[hawke]

I guess I should have been more clear. Seatbelts are great, I wear them, they save lives. Smoking is harmful, yet I smoke. These issues are not my point here. What was said was about the insurance companies concerns...

insurance companies are not concerned about health at all. ...

What they care about is nothing other than ...money.

 

[hippiebrian]

My company just banned all smoking (including vaping) on the property. I work 12 hour shifts and cannot leave the property. I work at a refinery, and we used to have designated smoking areas, now we have to sneak. Now I've been here a while and know where it's safe, but we have contractors who work 12 hour shifts also and who have no idea where it's safe to sneak a smoke. Accident waiting to happen as far as I am concerned.

 

[necron99]

The butter knife of righteousness has spread its buttery indignation over the toast of injustice in this thread.

 

[conlejm]

According to the latest CDC calculations, 18.1% of American adults smoke (and the rate is declining), while 34.9% of American adults are obese (and the rate is increasing).
Methinks the politicians are fighting the wrong windmill.

 

[dochudson]

According to the latest CDC calculations, 18.1% of American adults smoke (and the rate is declining), while 34.9% of American adults are obese (and the rate is increasing).
Methinks the politicians are fighting the wrong windmill.

only a matter of time.. hospital group I use to work for now has everyone do a health screening for insurance. a few folks I know have had their bmi flagged and they are attending nutrition classes.
Mochelle is making the schools serve all the kids 'healthy food' which they throw in the trash and run home to eat twice the junk. The school are loosing money, dumping food and the kids are going home hungry.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

So how does that work there - does your employer pay the 25% increase or do you? How much are average health insurance premiums for a family of four and who pays it?

 

[cmdrmcbragg]

They are fighting obesity with Michelle Obama's school menu retooling, which has been a failure as kids just dump what they don't like in the trash (a waste of money). Also increased taxation of sweets and sodas, banning trans fats and frying oils, etc. so it's not like nothing is being done about them by the government.
I'm of the belief you can out whatever you want into your body but must also pay the price be it health related or pocket related. I don't care if it is tobacco, sodas, fried food, drugs or alcohol. It is a personal choice.

 

[jitterbugdude]

All good stats, jitterbug. Got cites that I can pass along? Giving the anti's anecdotes doesn't cut the mustard
Yes I do but give me a day or two to dig them up.

 

[tuold]

I work for a large health system so we are self insured. Since my coworkers are the ones taking care of me, one might think the costs would be quite low for our insurance. Maybe it is, because I only pay $180.00 a month for my wife and myself.
My beef is that we hire a third party to manage our health and pharmacy care and it's very bothersome and intrusive with the same "no tolerance" approach to nicotine. That and the fact I have to fight for just about any care I do need has been very aggravating. I've had treatments delayed a month so some committee can review my doctor's treatment plan. Then we have "health counselors" assigned to our case to nag us all the way along. Makes my blood pressure go up every time I see them calling. Half the time they don't even know what they are talking about.
I pine for the good old days when my health care was my own business. I know those days will never come back though.

 

[mso489]

You've been warned! Before you join the Navy, be sure to read at least a dozen books about

shipwrecks.

 

[cmdrmcbragg]

@mso, that's pretty funny. Sidebar to your comment, when I joined my aunt asked me "If you don't like swimming, why would you join the Navy?"
Now, I can swim just fine, but I just don't care for it.
My response: "I'm going to be on a ship that's on the water. I didn't join to swim."

 

[natibo]

While I agree with most of the comments, and believe the anti-tobacco folks have gone crazy I was befuddles by this comment fro hawke:

What bothers me most is that the insurance companies are not concerned about health at all. The same way they are not concerned about saving our life when they sent lobbyist to influence lawmakers on the wearing of seat-belts.
What they care about is nothing other than ...money.

I believe that all companies, especially publicly traded companies, are concerned with making money. In fact, for public companies the directors and officers have a fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder value. Insurance companies get to keep more of the money they collect if less people get sick, so to a certain extent they are concerned with your health.
The fact that a company is concerned primarily with making money is not a bad thing.