Stoptober

Stoptober

Many of you will have heard about Stoptober, you might have taken part or are considering it, there’s never been a better time to quit smoking! For those who haven’t heard about it, Stoptober is a campaign organised by the NHS to encourage people to stop smoking. To take part people stop smoking for 28 days, which would then make you 5 times more likely to be able to stop smoking for good (Public Health England, 2021).

Since Stoptober began in 2012, 2.3 million people have made a quit attempt, and the ratio of smokers has gone from 1 in 5 adults to 1 in 7 adults. Although the campaign has been running for almost 10 years, smoking is the leading cause of premature death and there are still over 6 million adults in England who are smokers (Public Health England, 2021).

A number of people have said that the stress of everyday life can prevent them from quitting smoking, and the recent pandemic saw more people turning to smoking, making Stoptober as vital as ever.

Not only does smoking cost a lot of money, it also has substantial effects on your health. It can increase the risk of developing cancer, coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), peripheral vascular disease (damaged blood vessels) and cerebrovascular disease (damaged arteries that supply blood to your brain). Smoking also damages your lungs and can lead to pneumonia, bronchitis and emphysema. If that isn’t enough, it can also worsen the effects of asthma and respiratory tract infections (NHS, 2018) . 

Secondhand smoke can also cause an array of issues, especially for children. When smoking, the majority of the smoke doesn’t actually end up in your lungs, it will end up in the surrounding area. If you’re with other people or children, they will then be breathing this in, especially if you’re in an enclosed space such as a car or indoors.

An example of secondhand smoke being lethal is the death of entertainer, dancer and musician Roy Castle, singer of ‘Good Morning’ and ‘Moses Supposes’. Roy died from lung cancer having never smoked himself, this was thought to be down to secondhand smoke. From this, the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation was created, to help fund life-saving research.

It has been found that people who breathe in secondhand smoke are also more likely to develop the same conditions as a smoker. Secondhand smoke can also be a cause for concern for pregnant women, and this leads to a higher risk of premature birth and their baby is more at risk of a low birthweight (NHS Choices, 2019).

Children who live in a household with even just one smoker are more likely to develop things such as asthma, chest infections like pneumonia and bronchitis, meningitis, ear infections and coughs and colds. Because of the risks of secondhand smoke, especially when in a confined space, a ban on smoking in cars or other vehicles carrying children was put in place in 2015, meaning it is against the law to smoke in a vehicle with a person under the age of 18 (NHS Choices, 2019).

Access to insurance

When it comes to life insurance, critical illness or income protection, insurers see smokers as being a higher risk. This is due to there being a long history of evidence showing that smokers tend to have a shorter life expectancy and much higher risk of developing cancer. Though this isn’t always the case, insurers work on probability and statistics. 

When applying for protection insurance, the insurer will want to know what you smoke, whether that be cigarettes, cigars or something else. They will also want to know how long you have smoked for and how much you smoke each day. 

Smoking on its own wouldn’t usually cause a concern significant enough to decline your application, instead an automatic higher premium would be offered that is usually double the price of a non-smokers policy. There are times where an insurer may look at your application much more closely, this would be if you have a health condition which is related to smoking or can be worsened by it e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

When it comes to e-cigarettes, many insurers are unsure on the long term effects of this as there isn’t quite enough definitive evidence yet. Whether you smoke nicotine or nicotine-free e-cigs most insurers assess your application as if you are a smoker (higher premiums). This isn’t the case with all insurers, as some do have specific options for vapers at normal pricing, so please don’t let that put you off completely. It’s always worth getting quotations to see exactly where you stand.

Once you have gone 12 months without any nicotine products or the use of an e-cigarette, many insurers will then see you as a non-smoker. If you already have insurance in place which was set up whilst you were a smoker, you can usually let the insurer know of your updated non-smoker status. They may reduce your premium after you have declared this, but they might ask you to do a cotinine test to prove it. 

Case Studies

• A man in his mid 30s approached Cura needing life insurance to provide financial protection for his family. He regularly smoked nicotine e-cigarettes. We arranged a life insurance policy with standard rates (no price increase due to his smoker status). This policy was for £128,000 over a 25 year period, with a monthly premium of under £7.

   

• A man in his mid 30s, needing life insurance to ensure his mortgage could be paid off in the event of his death. He used an e-cigarette on a daily basis and there were also a couple of other disclosures for the insurer to take into account. A life and critical illness policy was arranged for a period of 26 years. The sum assured of this was £70,000 with a premium of under £25.
  
  

Without being too doom and gloom, there are options for smokers when it comes to protection insurance, but realistically you may just have to be prepared to spend a bit more money to get the cover you need if you have smoked or used an e-cigarette within the last 12 months.

Resources

NHS (2018). What are the health risks of smoking? [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/what-are-the-health-risks-of-smoking/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2021].

NHS Choices (2019). Quit smoking. [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/passive-smoking-protect-your-family-and-friends/ [Accessed 14 Oct. 2021].

Public Health England (2021). Smokers encouraged to take part in Stoptober, as they report smoking more during pandemic. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/smokers-encouraged-to-take-part-in-stoptober-as-they-report-smoking-more-during-pandemic [Accessed 12 Oct. 2021].