Smokers to Pay Higher Insurance

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Teachers and other state employees who smoke will have to pay $40 a month more for health insurance starting July 1.

Employees are fuming over the surcharge, which hits state workers, public school teachers and their families who admit to smoking or using tobacco in the past 12 months.

[ ... ]

In Georgia, state employees are expected to abide by the honor system when they sign up for insurance coverage and are asked whether they use tobacco, said Tim Burgess, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health. Those caught lying will lose their insurance for a year, he said.

It is not known how this provision is going to be enforced. There are no strong measures to prevent people from signing off that they never smoke while continuing to enjoy their nightly after-dinner cigars in the privacy of their homes. Losing insurance for a year for lying probably won't be a strong deterrent to those who crave nicotine. They'll just practice their habit in secrecy. And, I'm really unclear as to how they can impose a smoking prohibition on the family of a worker.

Curiously, the smoking of marijuana appears to be acceptable since the rule specifically targets tobacco. As an aside, a man used to be able to stop at his local bar and have beer and a smoke while the marijuana users had to hide when they smoked. Nowadays, tobacco is banned in bars while marijuana clubs are opening regularly for dope smokers. So, if you're going to smoke in public, it better be dope.

One last thought. If the tobacco surcharge is warranted because smokers increase the cost of health care, why couldn't the same argument be used to justify a beer surcharge or a weight surcharge?