Editorial: Inhale smoke, exhale dollars

Saturday, Feb. 18, 2006 | 12:31 p.m.

It has been 42 years since an advisory committee to the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report concluding that smoking causes lung cancer. The report led Congress to pass a law requiring health warnings on cigarette packages.

Since that time, the warnings have become stronger, tobacco advertising has been banned, cigarette companies have paid billions to state governments to settle health care lawsuits, ordinances against smoking in public buildings have become commonplace and the smoking light on airlines has become a thing of the past.

In 2000 the surgeon general cited smoking as the "No. 1 cause of preventable disease and death." Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says smoking damages nearly every organ in the body and presents a high risk of cancer to the heart, lungs, pancreas, cervix, kidneys and stomach. It can cause gum disease, cataracts, leukemia and pneumonia. Pregnant women who are smokers are advised to quit immediately to avoid birth defects in their babies.

Nearly everyone now knows people who have quit the addictive habit because of its severe health effects. But nearly everyone, too, knows people who are not even trying to overcome their addiction. And for those people, soon there could be an incentive beyond their health to quit - their pocketbooks are in danger of being hit once again.

Already, high taxes have been levied on cigarettes, but that has not seemed to work. Perhaps the constant reminder associated with higher health insurance premiums will do the trick. Many companies are charging as much as an additional $50 a month to their employees who are smokers.

We understand why companies are doing this and believe, while it is an extreme step, that it is fair. The more a person needs medical care, the more the premiums go up for everyone in a group medical plan. That is OK if a person succumbs to an illness, is disabled, is involved in an accident or has an inherited condition. But it is not OK if a person has ignored four decades of warnings and incontrovertible evidence and continues to smoke anyway.

Companies should do all they can to first help employees kick this addiction. But smokers shouldn't be surprised if they are asked to quit or told to pay extra to help prevent higher premiums for everyone.