General Chat

I was born & raised in Ireland where the air is fresh & clean,
In the village of Dureen near the town of Skibereen.

I always had the best of food & never liked the pan.
I grew up healthily & could cycle with any man.

Oh weren’t they the happy days when I was young & free.
I could dance & sing & have a drink wherever I might be.

Kathleen O’Houlihan was the girl I used to date.
But, because of unemployment, I was forced to emigrate.

It was back in 1960 that I left my childhood home
Determined to achieve success & make it on my own.

I stared work with Wimpey far from home & family
And made new friends & some enemies too across the Irish sea.

Oh well I can remember the day of my first pay.
I joined a jolly bunch of chaps down at the Travellers’ Way.

We drank some pints of Guinness but I’ll always have regrets
Because before I left that tavern, I bought some cigarettes.

For more than 40 years now, I’ve smoked 20 fags a day
Which means I’ve sent up in smoke an awful lot of pay.

I haven’t had a breakfast now for 20 years or so;
Cup of tea, light a fag & off to work I go.

The people whom I’m staying with look after all my needs;
And when I come home each evening, they put up some mighty feeds.

They really shouldn’t bother for my taste buds have disappeared;
And bacon, beef or mutton chops - they all taste kinda weird.

I met a young lad recently - he came from Donegal;
He’s a qualified accountant & thinks he knows it all.

He asked me how many fags I smoke & when I started;
I didn’t take much notice for I was trying to kill my thirst.

He took out his calculator & began to add it up;
T’wasn’t that I asked him - cheeky little pup.

And when he had finished, he looked at me and spoke;
“You have £67k pounds all gone up in smoke”.

Now, £67k is an awful lot of dough;
And to spend it on a poisoned weed is hard to take I know.

I used to think that all my friends would surely be impressed;
But now I think of all that muck I’ve inhaled into my chest.

I can never stop coughing - I even cough all night;
My eyes are kinda watery & my face is deadly white.

My memory has started failing & it’s often I forget;
Oh, what the hell about it - I’ll have another cigarette.

Sometimes I sit & dream awhile when I’m all alone;
About the days when I was young & weighing 13 stones.

I was then in peak condition for cycling was my thing;
And I hoped one day to emulate Stephen Roche or Christy Ring.

Oh God be with those happy days & things that might have been;
Had I the chance to stay at home & work in Skibereen.

Still, it isn’t emigration that’s caused my main regrets;
It’s that day in 1960 when I bought those cigarettes.

I’m lying in intensive care with my body wrecked with pain;
Oh what I would give to see my Irish home again.

In my mind, I have a vision of the fields of new moan hay;
And I see the sun ascending way beyond old Bantry Bay.

The doctor’s been to see me & his face was rather grim;
And the Matron asked me yesterday to name my next of kin.

If only I could breathe again the air I can’t forget;
I swear to God I’d never smoke another cigarette.

didn't realise that Emphysema was/is genetic,
I "assumed" that COPD ~ was due to my lifestyle/environment

Smoking is likely to damage your health and shorten your life. The evidence is overwhelming - some lifelong smokers live to a ripe old age without any problems, but they are lucky. Heart disease and lung cancer are linked to smoking. End of.

Of course everyone should have the freedom to smoke, or not smoke. But it's inevitable that insurance premiums for smokers will be higher.

On the plus side, if you have an annuity, you are likely to get a higher monthly payment as you will, statistically, be deemed to have a shorter life ;-)

My first post wasn't about car insurance, it was about bad drivers likely to have a serious car accident, and health insurance companies wouldn't know :-D

Some smokers may die younger. Some may have long illnesses. Non-smokers may get these same illnesses.

Emphysema is called a 'smokers' disease, but it is genetic.
My dad had emphysema when he was 10 - he'd never smoked in his life. He had a portion of his lung cut out, and was fine. He went on to smoke, and had no lung trouble at all.
Chances of me getting it are quite high - I also happen to smoke, which is by the by.
Friend has emphysema - as did his dad.
Pollution can lead to lung cancer - should those unfortunate enough to live in a highly polluted area pay more?
Sun bathers are more likely than others' to get melanoma's - are they charged more?

The question was about smokers........ and SHOULD they have to pay more for PRIVATE health insurance...... if so, why not heavy drinkers, over-eaters & drug-users?

I wasn't asking about life insurance, car insurance or the NHS or Oz Medicare.



:-S

The OP was about higher premiums for smokers.

A few years ago we arranged whole-life (death) insurance policy. As part of this we had to have medical via our GPs. One question was if we smoked. There is a test (some sort of paper placed on the tongue) given to people who say they don't.

There is the arguement in the UK that although smokers may use the NHS more, they are likely to die younger than non smokers. Older non-smokers are likely to cost just as much, but on different illnesses.

No idea how that would equate in a mixed Austalian system. :-S

That's my point, Det :-D
To make people with (apparently) 'obvious' health risks pay more seems a bit sly.
You take medication for a condition you know about - others may ignore/not know about a medical condition, so pay less - even though they've got more chance of a serious illness/situation than those who are aware of it/bother to get checked and take medication to control it.

A bad driver is more likely to have a serious accident, (which would increase their health and car insurance) but if all their accidents have been small ones, the car insurance company may know - but would the health insurance company know what a high potential they had for a serious accident?

Logic suggests that if a person is at increased risk of claiming on health insurance, they will have higher premiums. If they didn't need to make a medical claim after a 'prang', would the health insurers ever know?

We can only refer to Travel Insurance. We have to pay an increased premium because of the medication we take. The fact that we've never had to seek an extra GP's appointment because of the underlying cause, or been hospitalised, doesn't come into it!

Yes, I think I indicated that I knew constantly pranging a car would increase Car Insurance. I was pondering on private HEALTH Insurance, (as that's what LadyScozz was referring to).

Obviously, if you've had a few serious car accidents, that lead to hospital treatment, this will lead to Higher Health Insurance, but I was talking about consistent 'prangers', and their potential for a serious accident.

Anything which represents increased risk will increase preiums UNLESS you live in the EU and the risk is due to being male.

Despite the well established fact that men tend to have rather more expensive and more bloody car accidents than women and for many years paid appreciably higher car insurance premiums because of it the EU has held that this is sex discrimination against men. Accordingly premiums have been averaged out which is rather tough on women drivers.

Actuary tables are based soley on past performance hence the tendency for insurance companies to avoid going bust by merging with each other. They are yet another modern day instance of gigantic ponzi schemes.

maggiewinchester - I think we need an Actuary to answer some of our queries expertly.

Do those who continually 'prang' their car have to pay more for private health insurance. (I know they probably pay more for car insurance)
Just asking, because if they're rubbish drivers, surely there's more chance of them having an accident, and hurting someone else!!

Most insurance policy premiums, whether life or health cover, contain an extra premium slice for smoking policyholders.

Females pay more for health insurance than their male counterparts. For life cover, females are afforded cheaper premiums.

A "news" item.......

Smokers should pay more for private health insurance.

What about people who drink too much, use illegal drugs, overeat, take part in extreme sports?

I'm recovering from an operation, an injury caused by sport.......... is that my fault?



The world has gone completely mad.