Contributing to High Cost of Health Insurance
At
moneycentral.msn.com, the costs of smoking are revealed, and they effect everyone, including nonsmokers, by raising the costs of
health insurance and health care in general.
According to the article, "CDC figures assert that smokers cost the economy nearly $94 billion yearly in lost productivity. An additional $89 billion is estimated spent on public and private healthcare combined." That's a total of $183 billion dollars spent by all Americans, in order to pay for the ones who can't or won't quit smoking. On average, American households spend around $600 a year in extra taxes to deal with the health care issues of smokers.
Of course there are several good campaigns out there trying to help them quit smoking, or in a best case scenario not to start at all. The U.S. cigarette pack warnings were recently criticized as the least effective in the world, compared to the more dramatic warning labels in Canada and parts of Europe. But, television campaigns have helped some, as has public awareness of the damages done by cigarettes.
So what can be done about health care and the lack of
affordalbe health insurance? In 1988 cigarette makers agreed to pay $206 billion to settle lawsuits with 46 states that claimed smoking added to the states' health care costs. This helped them to bear the burden a bit, but costs are still high and smoking is still a major problem. What does seem to be effective are bans on smoking in public places, in the workplace, and a higher cost for cigarettes. In fact, taxing cigarettes heavily has helped to minimize smoking, helps states compensate for high health care costs, and in the long run, makes health insurance more affordable for everyone. Of course there are many people who try to buy cigarettes online for less, but more and more these companies who sell them online, and the people who buy them, are being slapped with high taxes and fines.
Facts on:
Smoking
Did you know...
American households spend approx $600 a year in smoking related taxes?
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And then there are some who say that without smoking Americans would live too long, actually invoking a different set health care costs based on their long and happy lives.
And we think that sounds like a price worth paying.
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