Tobacco is the crop that came only second to cotton in building early America’s economy, but now it has fallen out of the top ten agricultural crops in the US. It still has a multi-billion dollar industrial presence with 44 million adults continuing to smoke every day.
There are a large number of students at Saint Xavier who use tobacco products on a regular basis. We all can probably immediately think a few friends who smoke, so this is a friendly heads up on what is coming their way. Smokers’ lives are already filled with people and various organizations telling them that smoking is bad and face increasing prices for a pack, but in 2014 the price might become too steep for many.
Before we examine this issue further, there is no legal definition of a smoker in the ACA, however, an article in the Oxford Journals went into great detail about the categories of smokers. Almost all of the definitions involve weekly consumption of tobacco, so for all intents and purposes that will be the definition of a smoker in this article and a close approximate to what will be used in law. Now back into the fray.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), the defining law of President Obama’s first term, contains a section that attacks the tobacco industry at its heart: their customers. This is a two-prong strategy of offering smokers a helping hand to quit smoking and an iron hammer to crush their financial ability to continue smoking.
In section 2701: (1)(A)(iv) there is a single sentence that will cost smokers hundreds of thousands annually. This clause states, “Tobacco use, except that [insurance premiums] shall not vary by more than 1.5 to 1,†meaning smokers will face a possible 50% increase in their insurance costs. Combine that with the ever increase price of tobacco via tax hicks, and smokers will be facing a near crippling blow to their habit. If you are amongst the 69% of smokers who want to quit then the government is offering smoking cessation programs and benefits.
The ACA establishes a free program for expecting mothers who want to stop smoking in section 4107. All counseling and pharmacotherapy costs will be covered under Medicaid, so any doctors and prescription/non-prescription drugs needed come at no charge. For the rest of the smoker population, things get a bit more vague in the ACA language.
Section 2703 mentions that a wellness program, which will be provided by the employer or individual arrangement, will, “Reimburse individuals for the costs of smoking cessation programs without regard to whether the individual quits smoking.â€A more specific breakdown of what exactly is covered by 40 programs was released by the Health Policy Institute entitled, “Implementation of tobacco cessation coverage under the Affordable Care Act: Understanding how private health insurance policies cover tobacco cessation treatments,†which is highly recommended for further detail.
Later, the bill goes on the state that a smoker’s premium will not increase (at least as drastically), if the smoker is enrolled and participating in a cessation program. The choice is yours, but should you be forced to make it in the first place? We here at the Xavierite believe that the ACA and the powers in enables to the necessary entities are correct in forcing this new pressure on smokers. The cost to of tobacco related illness and lost labors inflicts $190 billion of damages on America annually. An industry that has such a parasitic effect on our society does not desire to continue.
While we cannot outright ban tobacco products (yet), our government can force enough pressure on tobacco users to get a majority of them to change their mind. Of course it is nothing against the smokers’ personally, but they are the most flexible part of the problem. If you are willing to pay the ultimate price, then paying a few more bucks should not be that hard of a stretch. The choice is simple: continue and pay the price or stop and reap the benefits. Finding the strength to completely stop will be difficult, but remember support is always on hand.
Visit smokefree.gov to get started on your path to quitting.
The Xavierite Staff
Sources:Â epa.gov, nih.gov, H.R. 3590, cdc.gov