Military Ban On Smoking?

[Tom Schindler]

General Order #1 while deployed says no alcohol will be consumed and no sex will be had between unmarried couples.....but yet people still get DRUNK and Females STILL get PREGNANT. Just because there is a ban so something doesnt mean nothing..

You can't be serious! You mean if there is a law against it, people will still do it? OMG, that can't be true.



Look how well the "war on drugs" is working. Nobody gets high or stoned because it is illegal. We know in most states prostitution is illegal and we know everyone in those states obeys by those rules.



I am shocked...well not really. I know that laws mean nothing to many people out there.



Be it smoking, Abortion, Prostitution, Drugs and just about everything else.



Tobacco is a legal product. It should be allowed to be consumed anywhere and at any time someone chooses to do so.





Tom



P.S. I am a non-smoker.

 

[scott degroot]

TJR,7/10/2009 21:11 MT





I have a better idea. Just charge smokers 10x more in health insurance.



TJR

Regards, Tom

Your on a slippery slope there, you start doing that then you have to charge overweight people more and then it just keeps going from there...

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

I'm with the others saying this "ban" is absolutely dumb. I was in service from 1989-2003 and we weren't allowed to smoke during Basic Training. During AIT, we were allowed to smoke, but only when we had down time. I have moved from smoking to snuff (still smoke when I drink, but don't drink very often) but have no problem with people who smoke and take smoke breaks where I work. Most will only go out if there isn't anything to do. Yes, there are some that abuse it and always seem to "disappear" when work is to be done. But that is such in everyday life. I know a few that don't smoke, but pull the disappearing act at opertune times. Tobacco is legal. You can drink alcohol out in the open and act the fool, but God forbid you smoke. The new laws are made to try and discurage young people from doing it. If that is the case, then raise the age limit to the same as drinking alcohol. Here in Pa, you have to get your alcohol from distributors or State Stores. You have to be 21 to be able to be in these places. I say make it so you have to get your tobacco here also. I know people will still do it, but why make it so nobody can do it? You have alcoholics that are sucking money out of Healthcare, but they aren't raising the taxes to extraordinary hights on it. Most life insurance plans already charge a hell of alot more for people who use tobacco. There are other ways the Gov. can control this, but why not make money off of it? What's to say that the people who got cancer wasn't going to get it anyway. I know alot of people who never used tobacco, but still got cancer. What's the excuse there?:wacko:

 

[Todd Z]

I am a NON smoker, the people that are in my office go outside close to 8 times a day for their fix...



I don't eat 8x a day !!... LOL



SO I take my own sig breaks throughout the day, Heck if they can with no one saying any thing, I can too !!!



LOL

Todd Z

 

[Thomas Rogers]

1tech,



I already pay higher insurance premiums being an overweight person, even though I have perfect blood pressure, regular cholesteral level, etc.



I'm overweight largely by choice and circumstance. If I took a more active role in exercising (more than the 4 to 5 hours a week I spend now) then I would be able to drop more weight. I've lost 15 lbs over the past year without actually changing my diet...just exercise. But losing any more would require even more dedication to exercise, and I choose not to spend the time...and not to eat only rabbit food.



TJR

 

[scott degroot]

I already pay higher insurance premiums being an overweight person, even though I have perfect blood pressure, regular cholesteral level, etc.

TJR

Regards, Tom

Just out of curiousity what is the difference in the $$ amount of your premiums?? I had heard that the ins co's wanted to start doing this but I never thought that it would actually take hold...the limits are endless if this practice is adopted industry wide and very unfair IMO. I'm almost bald and live in AZ...wil my premiums go up because I have a greater chance of getting skin cancer now???

 

[Thomas Rogers]

l1tech,



To be completely honest, I might have unintentionally mislead you.



I said "insurance premiums" and I meant "life insurance premiums". I don't have preferred (lower) rates because of my weight. Not sure how much more a month I am paying.



TJR

 

[Dan Long]

Health insurance companies will charge extra based on weight. I was recently purchased private health insurance, and due to not fitting into their height/weight/age guidelines, my policy was increased by around $20 a month or so.

 

[scott degroot]

TJR



I thought you were referring to health insurance. FWIW I enjoy a cigar from time to time, 3-4 a month, and it impacted my life insurance premiums also. You will NEVER get me to believe that my occassional cigar is going to shorten my life span. Funny that they have no interest in my ATV activities which came close ending my time here.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

l1tech,



And that is the hypocricy of such higher rates. You can be an xtreme sports junky and enjoy lower rates, but if you eat a cheeseburger and fries a couple of times a week and don't get good exercise then you pay higher rates.



TJR

 

[Tom Schindler]

And that is the hypocricy of such higher rates.

The sad part is that the average person is "OK" with it. One day, we will wake up and realize the damage we have done and there will be nothing we can do about it.





Tom

 

[Les]

but if you eat a cheeseburger and fries a couple of times a week and don't get good exercise then you pay higher rates.

Obesity is considered one of the largest health issues in America. Why should a diabetic (due to obesity) get the same rates as someone that takes care of themselves.

I'm overweight largely by choice and circumstance.

And this is your own statement.



You feel slighted on this, and you shouldn't. You have made decisions in your lifestyle as I have made in mine. My decisions should not affect you, and your decisions should not affect me.



This is no different than paying a higher rate of car insurance due to your driving habits or the type of car you drive.

 

[Michael Cacioppo]

believe that smokers are charged more for health insurance than non-smokers. If you let the government dictate every one of your elected activities than why don't they ban sky diving, snorkeling, swimming, driving etc. since you are more likely to die from these activities than those that don't participate. Not all smokers die of cancer or related affects of smoking. Some get hit by trucks and others die of old age. The government taxes cigarettes enough to pay for any medical related issues for the veterans. They rather put this money in the general fund so that they can give out more pork to attract votes. Lets all wake up any constrain the government to what the Constitution required them to do and not what politicians want to do. This is not a DEM or REP issue. The government is out of control and many just sit there and believe in the tooth fairy and how the government will take care of them and give them money. Well the government does not have money, it comes from us. It's our money that they piss away......Sorry for the rant but this is getting ridiculous in my opinion.



Let's see you are 18 in the military fighting for our country and are risking your life....BUT you are not old enough to drink and now can't smoke. Give me a break. BTW why aren't women required to register with the military?

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Les,



You totally misread my post.



I didn't say that I feel slighted. I made it clear that it is by my choices that I pay more in insurance that someone than is not overweight. I'm okay with that. I don't feel slighted because of that.



I never said that someone making bad choices should pay the same favorable rates as someone that arguably makes better choices.



I was trying to describe what some call the "slippery slope" of charging some more for their choices but not charging others.



It just think that what's "fair is fair". If my choices put me in a profile of people at are at greater risk of premature death, or increased need of medical care, and because of that I have to pay higher rates, then so should be the case for the xstreme sports fan, or even the zealot jogger (who needs to get knees replaced at 50 years of age).



It's easy to look at someone who smokes, or is fat and point a finger. But usually when you point a finger you have at least three other fingers pointing right back at you.



Everyone makes choices...few make choices that always, at all times, make them more healthy, safer individuals. If we are going to penalize one set of individuals for their bad choices, why not all individuals for all bad choices? Are you ready for that? I'm not!



TJR

 

[Les]

then so should be the case for the xstreme sports fan, or even the zealot jogger (who needs to get knees replaced at 50 years of age).

The extreme sports person does pay extra for life insurance policies. If you scuba dive, bungee jump or jump out of perfectly good airplanes, your rates are typically higher, or there is a clause that states if death occurs "under the following conditions", there is no payment. Smokers also pay higher life insurance rates, however the runner with bad knees, that's a health insurance issue.



If I were to get life insurance now, I would be penalized due to my age, and this is completely out of my control.

I was trying to describe what some call the "slippery slope" of charging some more for their choices but not charging others

.



It seems to me insurance companies have their a$$ covered pretty well, they're not rich because they are stupid...

 

[Tom Schindler]

Obesity is considered one of the largest health issues in America. Why should a diabetic (due to obesity) get the same rates as someone that takes care of themselves.

I am large, but in perfect health. My blood sugar level is normal, perfectly normal.



Obesity does not cause diabetis.





Tom

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Caymen,



It's true that no one can show with absolute certainty what causes what. For example; can we prove that smoking causes lung cancer? No! But we can show an increased liklihood of getting lung cancer if a smoker.



The same is true with obesity and diabetis. We can show an increased liklihood of the onset of type 2 diabetis for those that are obese.



Therefore, though it is true that not all diabetis is caused by obesity (I know skinny diabetics), we are still able to show causality between obestity and diabetis.



Read on:

 

[Les]

How does my weight relate to type 2 diabetes?



Carrying extra body weight and body fat go hand and hand with the development of type 2 diabetes. People who are overweight are at much greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than normal weight individuals. Being overweight puts added pressure on the body's ability to properly control blood sugar using insulin and therefore makes it much more likely for you to develop diabetes. Almost 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. The number of diabetes cases among American adults jumped by a third during the 1990s, and more increases are expected. This rapid increase in diabetes is due to the growing prevalence of obesity and extra weight in the United States population.

From the article sited by TJR...

 

[Doctor CAD]

Wait, my health insurance rates went up when my company started covering gay partners.



Does that mean they all smoke? Maybe they all are overweight. Perhaps they have diabetes?

 

[Bill Barber]

Or AIDS