E-cigarettes are electronic devices that are the same size and shape as a real cigarette, and are often painted to look like one. They hold vials of liquid, which is often flavoured and may contain nicotine. The vials are heated up and converted into a smokeless vapour that is inhaled by the user. Consumption is known as “vaping”, after the vapour they produce.
If you are currently vaping, or are thinking about doing so, you should consider the potential health effects as well as how it may affect your life insurance premiums.
Health effects of e-cigarettes
E-cigarettes are frequently promoted as “healthier” than regular cigarettes, because they don’t contain tobacco and users don’t inhale the tar and other substances found in smoke. However, as they are still relatively new on the scene, little research has been done into the health consequences of e-cigarettes, including long-term outcomes and the effects of second-hand inhalation.
It is currently illegal to sell e-cigarette vials containing nicotine within Australia, although the devices themselves can be sold in some states, as can vials that don’t contain nicotine. However, it is legal to buy the nicotine vials from overseas under certain circumstances, which many users do.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration recently issued a warning about e-cigarettes that contain nicotine, referencing several overseas studies that suggested electronic cigarettes containing nicotine may be dangerous, delivering unreliable doses of nicotine, containing toxic chemicals or carcinogens, or leaking nicotine.
E-cigarettes Life Insurance
Are you an e-cigarette user?
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If you use e-cigarettes, what does it mean for your life insurance and premium? In most cases, smoker premiums will still apply to e-cigarette users, if the e-cigarettes contain nicotine. Generally, a non-smoker is defined as someone who has not smoked a cigarette, or used nicotine or a nicotine-replacement product, within the previous 12 months.
In addition, someone who has smoked marijuana within the last 12 months would also be considered a smoker.
However, according to the rules of some insurance companies, it would depend on the type of e-cigarette — namely, whether or not you use the sort of e-cigarette vials that contain nicotine.
If you would like to find out more about smoking, vaping and what they mean for your life insurance policy, give us a call today on 13 54 33.