Work enforced Stop Smoking to save money for others.

[marcustbowser]

This ex program was given to employees to make a choice.   Enter the program or be charged $50/month.  You don't have to quit,  just be enrolled.  Then the big news came out that our insurance premiums for the following year didn't change at all which hardly ever happens.   So a deal was made using smokers addictions again to capitalize off of their money.   If you don't want to quit then you just don't.   But to further charge a smoker is ridiculous and frankly discrimination.   I signed up for the politically driven sensation program so I wasn't to be charged.

If the was some type of magic to quit I'd go for that.

[pir8fan]

Wow! I am sure that many of the elders here thought of me when they read your blog. My name is Tommy, and I came here just over nine years ago! And I was mad as hell! Insurance rates and taxes were forcing me to to give up my beloved cigarettes! I saw a commercial for this site and figured it was a bunch of liberal do gooders trying to tell others how to live! A perfect outlet for my anger!! So I joined this site to start a fight!

40 days later I figured out that no one here wanted to fight with me! They were all willing to listen to my rants and offer ideas that made the process easier for me! I became part of the furniture here! If you came here you saw me! I came to realize that I did not love smoking. That was the addiction talking! I learned that I had been a slave to that addiction, and more importantly that I was stronger than the addiction! 

I was able to take back my life, and stop missing a lot of great things that I would have missed while searching for a place to feed my addiction! I learned that I was in control! 

Believe me, the people in your life want you to quit! But they do not understand your addiction! If you quit for two weeks they think you have made it! Not true! At this site we understand the need for ongoing support! And we will provide that for you!

I invite you to open up to the possibility of removing the shackles of your addiction! Freedom can be yours! And you can be happy about it!!

[sweetplt]

Welcome to Ex’s ...

I do hope you decide to Quit.  My husband’s insurance charging $25 a month because I smoked.  Actually, I quit before it went into place, but I must be quit 1 Year till they will stop charging.  Apparently, we smokers cost companies/medical insurance the most.  But now I am almost 60 days quit and I like the new quitter in me.  I hope you become a quitter too...we are here to support you.  Good luck!

[DonnaMarie]

Hi there. How cool that your employer is in a roundabout way encouraging your quit. I quit 45 days ago and never thought I'd make it this far, but the reality is, I'm feeling the magic. 

There is no magic pill to quit, but if you want to, you can and you will. If you don't want to, no one can force you. 

I hope you decide to stick around. EX is a great place for quitters and quitters-to-be to hang out. 

Donna

Day 45

[dljensen]

Here is what the company I work for health insurance company charges tobacco users $100/month non-refundable. If one decides to quit employees to quit their way,to get out of paying the tobacco fee, yeah and this is legal!!! Your thoughts on this.?! A Rip off I believe. 

[DonnaMarie]

I believe as smokers, we cost our employers a ton of money, not just in the

health benefits but also in the time we spend away from our work smoking.

People who don't smoke may not care to subsidize those who do by paying a

higher premium or working harder to make up for that time.

I no longer smoke, but I'm not a rabid nonsmoker.... yet. I do, though, see

how insurance companies and employers feel that not charging nonsmokers is

fair.

[umalala]

DonnaMarie wrote:

I believe as smokers, we cost our employers a ton of money, not just in the

health benefits but also in the time we spend away from our work smoking.

People who don't smoke may not care to subsidize those who do by paying a

higher premium or working harder to make up for that time.

I no longer smoke, but I'm not a rabid nonsmoker.... yet. I do, though, see

how insurance companies and employers feel that not charging nonsmokers is

fair.

Agree DonnaMarie . And I think we see insurance as an entitlement rather than coverage for something catastrophic.  Perhaps I am misremembering why insurance was created in the first place but I don't think it was created for everyday things. Now we use it for everyday things so the premiums have pushed higher to accommodate the change in behavior and expectation.  Still I don't think people who made the choice not to smoke should be subsidizing the choices that I made for a while. They should have access to the lowest possible cost.

dljensen‌ I think the cost is all relative. For smaller employers the cost per smoker could be more expensive than for a larger employer. Might also be related to the % of workforce that is identified as smoking still, how attractive it is to quit and also how much it might cost for companies to provide resources to quit.  If I'm  not mistaken this site might provide a service that your employer might want to check out.  I haven't been logging in as frequently but I still read here almost every day to help solidify my quit but I seem to remember a program of some kind. Perhaps someone else knows it and you can recommend it to your employer.  Maybe they can start a program that reduces the penalty down from $100 to less.

Again I empathize with you as I was in a similar mindset a while back but now I see things differently.

Muhamed

[dljensen]

I may have to DROP their insurance to save the $100 / month. 

[Giulia]

Nice to see your mind in action again here umalala .

[dljensen]

So I'm guessing that since I quit after filling out insurance in November on my own. I'll have to call insurance company and take forever to get off the tobacco list,

[sweetplt]

Yes...mine said I pay until I sign up next year again...yet I quit in December, but I guess I get it.