Reality of smoking damage

[AceWhite]

Regardless of how good & healthy I feel after quite a while of not smoking, the cold hard truth is smoking damaged my body and it will never be like that of a non smoker despite how long I don’t smoke. Good news is every day my body continues to repair itself so time is my friend. Wish I never smoked but thank God I’m conquering that addiction one day at a time. This chart reflects 11 months of not smoking. 
NOPE

[Doreensfree]

Whatever damage we did while we smoked ....it stops when we quit ....

Well done Ace ...your body is healing ...

[KEL]

Thanks for the information. I think its critical we take ownership of the damage. But I also think it can be dangerous since we really have no idea of why some people have health effects from smoking for a certain period of time while others don't. We can all agree that quitting is a good thing and there will be healing. 

Both my mom and one of my oldest friends had "lung cancer." However, neither smoked. Their form was on the lowest of the malignancy scale. They had surgery and are both fully recovered. My mom's was over 25 years ago. 

Sometimes bad things happen to good people and vice-versa. Life is somewhat of a crap shoot and all we really have is this present moment.

[Gus]

The best we can be to ourselves is to strive daily to be the best that we can be. 

[KEL]

@Gus. Truer words!

[Kate18]

I've seen in the news here and there that some employers or insurance companies want to levy fines to people who don't vaccinate, charge them higher medical insurance premiums, triage sick unvaccinated people after the sick vaccinated or other sick people, or not pay for part of all of the medical care that an unvaccinated person needs in order to recover from Covid.

 

That kind of planning scares me. It's a slippery slope for insurance companies that could put former (or current) smokers at risk, or people who are obese, who have heart disease from obesity due to unhealthy lifestyle and need surgery... the list goes on.

 

My employer's insurance company gives a lower rate to employees who sign a contract saying they will have an annual preventative exam, follow all doctor's advice for tests, diet, etc, get a minimum level of exercise, and something else I'm not remembering right now. I'm fine with that.

 

I'm not fine with insurance companies deciding who shouldn't have smoked or eaten too many carbs or should have received a vaccination, therefore they're not going to cover you in sickness.

 

Every year, I get the flu vaccine, and I had a vaccines for pneumonia and shingles. The flu vaccine is apparently effective 40-60% each year. So with this new thinking, if I got the flu as a vaccinated person, and were hospitalized, I'd be covered. But what about since I used to be a smoker? If I were sicker than some non-smoker-vaccinated person, would my coverage be less? 

 

I think we have to be diligent about what health insurance companies do with not wanting to cover unvaccinated Covid people. Whatever your politics for the vaccine, think of you or someone you love needing medical treatment as a consequence of having smoked a long time ago. Or as a consequence of obesity, or genetics, etc

 

Your thoughts?

[KEL]

@Kate18I commented previously and realized it was not well-received. I can appreciate your concerns but based on my experience its unlikely your worst fears will be realized. 

Edited January 16, 2022 by KEL

[Kris]

I am not going there.  There are things out there, no matter what we do. We are just humans and I do not and will not judge anyone for anything they may or may not do. I have/had smoked for forty years of my own accord.  I have eaten whatever I wanted for that seem length of time. The only time I have been asked any questions about this was for life insurance, I answered truthfully. I have never had any questions about my health insurance.  They know everything as they get the information from my doctors. I have not had an increase in premiums that was not given to everyone on my plan. I did quit smoking because of my plan.  They started including cat scans of the chest as a preventive care, just like pap smears, mammograms and colonoscopy. Things were found on my scan showing the beginning of emphysema.  There was no doubt in my mind.  I have watched others suffer this fate and is not for me. I quit smoking.

 

It really came down to a simple question.  Am I going to quit smoking or die a slow and painful death?  I quit smoking.

 

Now I am still overweight, I am still eating things I should not only because I know better.  The truth is I love good food.  I need to be more active.  We are all stuck with some problem, I just admit I have the problem.  I will deal with this one when I feel like it.

 

You will not be denied coverage for anything if it is not stated from the get go that the condition was excluded from your plan.  COVID weather you are vaccinated or not will be covered.  

[KEL]

1 hour ago, Kris said:

 

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by KEL
delete

[Kris]

Okay, tell us how it works?

[Kris]

@KEL I am confused, your earlier message said there were legalities to the post I made. You now have deleted your post without the clarification I needed and changed another one to @Kate18. 

 

You stated that your message was not well received, I don't know what that means either.  There is no need to reply to me but if there is a problem with the information I posted please send a PM to @Kate18 so she knows if there could be a problem with her insurance.

Thanks

[KEL]

@KrisYour post above rendered a legal opinion. I pointed out that opinion is not accurate only to have you ask me to explain how it works. I am not here to give legal advice. I would recommend that if any one has concerns over insurance coverage they contact their carriers or attorneys for clarification.

[Kris]

@KELThanks for the info, I was just going off of situations that I have experienced in the medical and health insurance area.  I had to learn a great deal about many types of health insurance including Medicare while caring for loved ones.  I was not offering a legal opinion, I said that she should check her policy and if there were not specific things listed as not covered she should not be worried.  Yes, she should contact her carrier if she has questions. It is imperative that we all have clear and concise rules we need to follow for our coverage.  I have had to take things to task with Aetna, Medicare, Humana and the federal government who provides my insurance and my husbands before he passed. Sometimes insurance will deny things but when push comes to shove and you have your documentation regarding the issue you will be covered. That is the nature of some insurance carriers, they deny hoping they will not have to pay, expecting you to just give up when they deny a claim.

Thanks

K