Solution for Rising Health Care Costs: Ban Smoking

Recently, the company I work for had to renew its insurance policy. To our surprise, our premiums increased by 60%. And, when we began shopping around, we learned no other company would give us any better of a deal.

Doing some research on the matter, I discovered our company wasn't alone in this. Most other companies were also experiencing a drastic increase in their premiums. And, some were even dropping their insurance just so their employees could take the state sponsored insurance instead.

At the pace this trend is continuing, most Americans will find themselves without adequate medical insurance and, since they probably won't be able to pay the bills out of pocket, our health care industry will suffer.

After much thought and study, I've concluded the best solution to the problem is banning tobacco use in the United States.

I'm not just talking about banning smoking in public. I am referring to making it illegal to sell tobacco products in this country and treating those who sell cigarettes as criminals.

I know this isn't going to be popular among the estimated 26% of Americans who currently smoke cigarettes. But, that doesn't mean it isn't the right decision.

Let's look at the facts.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans spend roughly $75.5 billion in health care costs directly related to people who smoke. That is in addition to nearly $100 billion in lost productivity due to smoking related illnesses and deaths.

In 1997, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that health care costs for smokers are 40% higher than those of non-smokers. Since many smokers use tax-payer funded health care, it means everybody absorbs the cost.

And, you shouldn't mistake this as me blaming smokers for all our problems. I don't. My dad has smoked cigarettes since he was 17 and has failed numerous times to quit, so I understand how hard that is. But, as a non-smoker, I can't justify paying their health care costs with my tax dollars and insurance premiums that take up 25% of my paycheck.