Young Adults, Life Insurance, and Smoking
October 15th, 2008
photo credit: Kah Zanon.It may seem like just a harmless habit that anyone can stop at any time, but smoking tobacco is one of the hardest addictions to break. In young people, the damage from tobacco smoke can also cause lung development to be reduced, which will have an impact on maximum lung functions later in life. Teenagers also are at a much higher risk of addiction because teens become addicted to substances at a much faster rate.
Life Insurance for Sons and Daughters Who Smoke
In addition to your young one being at risk for all of these negative effects, you may find another shocker – and that’s in the pocket-book. Life insurance for your teenager or college-age son or daughter may cost you as much as $350 / month more. That’s because life insurance policies are able to set higher rates for smokers. The way each company sets their premium varies, but it’s often determined by how much tobacco your son or daughter consumes.
Some companies differentiate between light and heavy tobacco usage, while others have two levels of smokers: Standard and Preferred. Your son or daughter will generally fall into the preferred tobacco level, but make no mistake: Premiums will still be significantly higher than they would be if they did not smoke at all.
How to Get Them to Quit
Quitting smoking may be difficult for your young one, but you should try to convince them that chronic bronchitis, heart disease and high risk of stroke are just some of the hazards associated with smoking tobacco. More than half a million Americans die from tobacco-related causes every single year, with the great majority of them having started smoking when they were in their early teens. Smoking can also cause you to look bad. Tobacco smoke dries the skin out and causes wrinkles and can even contribute to premature grey hair and hair loss.
Playing any type of sport is much more difficult when you smoke. Shortness of breath and dizziness will have a detrimental effect on everything you try to do physically. Every year many thousands of people die from complications arising from constantly being around someone who smokes and breathing in their smoke.
