Smoking and health insurance

From 1st of July 2007 virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces in England will become smokefree. This includes work vehicles. A smokefree England follows recent bans in Wales and Northern Ireland, and earlier bans in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

 

If you don't comply with the new smokefree law, you will be committing a criminal offence.

 

If smoking in smokefree premises or work vehicles a fixed penalty notice of £50 (reduced to £30 if paid in 15 days) is imposed on the person smoking. Or a maximum fine of £200 if prosecuted and convicted by a court.

 

Virtually every public building, including buses, trains, and taxis will be smoke free. So will  be work vans and any company vehicle used by more than one person, even if there is no one else in the car with you at the time you are smoking.

 

Companies can no longer have indoor smoking rooms. All pubs and private clubs will be smoke free.

 

Short of standing outside on the pavement, there are few places where it will  be legal to smoke, other than in your own home.

 

Workers hoping to keep smoking by nipping outside for a crafty fag may find employers very unwelcoming. New litter laws will force companies to clean up the ash and cigarette butts left on public pavements by their employees and customers.

 

On the spot fines for individuals and businesses breaking the law will be how local councils police the ban.

 

Exactly how councils will patrol the smoking laws is as yet unclear. But there is nothing to stop a council outsourcing the job to companies, on a contract basis with bonuses. Think of a combination of the worst excesses of traffic wardens and car clampers, in the hands of a group of virulent anti-smokers.

 

Around 70% of smokers say they want to stop smoking, and the new smokefree law could provide extra motivation to do so.

 

Smoking is a health issue. Remarkably, only one or two health insurers have taken the opportunity to include stopping smoking clinics as a benefit on private medical or health cash policies.

 

PruHealth offers discounts at Allen Carr’s Easyway To Stop Smoking programme.

 

Allen Carr is a leading smoking cessation expert and has 36 centres in the UK. They’re so confident of their results, they offer a full refund if the course is unsuccessful.

 

PruHealth offer members a £124 refund on their Allen Carr sessions if they attend during June; ahead of the July smoking ban.

 

Offering discounts at gyms and health clubs has become common, so it is a surprise that so few health insurers have caught onto the possible publicity value of including stop smoking clinics as a benefit.

 

So come on insurers, add Stop Smoking benefits to your private medical and health cash policies.

 

Non-smokers are healthier than smokers, so it makes long-term sense to turn smoking customers into non-smoking ones.