Why do insurers and doctors ask people if the smoke before doing the physical? Is it because in many cases they can't tell the smokers from the non-smokers without asking? It might be interesting to do some research where the doctors and insurance companies do a physical on say 100 people, and then they tell us which ones are smokers. What do you think their score is going to be on that 100 point exam?

Is it because in many cases they can't tell the smokers from the non-smokers without asking?

Unless you walk in smelling of tobacco, there is no way a Doctor can ascertain whether or not you smoke. Not from looking at you or examining you. Even if he could look at your lungs he wouldn't be able to tell. The old "smokers black lung" thing is a total myth. A smokers lung is as pink and pretty as a non-smokers. The pictures of black lungs you see are diseased lungs and diseased lungs will look that way whether they come from a smoker or not.

This has been the case for me on numerous occasions.
The first was when I worked on a construction repair job and the crap that we worked in was so bad that the company was doing lung capacity tests to protect themselves on future law suits (galv.welding -pcbs -asbestos insulation ect. before osha outlawed most of them )
Mine came out 105% and the Doc says I see that your a non smoker ---- he almost fell over when I told him that I only smoked three packs a day for thirty years.(that's been 25years or so ago)
Since then it seems that "ARE YOU A SMOKER" is about the first thing they ask.( My license requires a physical every two years and I don't go to the same Doc every time)
That first Doc didn't want to be embarrassed again

-J.C.-

For instance, the beautician that has to smell hairspray day after day-- if a health problem develops we know the cigarettes are going to get blamed every time.

Yuip. Heard of a case the other week of a lass working the sears perfume counter for 20+ years. Never smoked, never lived with anyone who smoked. So when she developed something to do with the lungs , they instantly said "must be due to smoking"...

And what irks me off, is in the military with our 'culture' of fitness/health that keeps getting pushed more and more, the number of people i know who smoke but still manage to beat out those hwo DON't smoke on the tests and regular runs is quite a lot. BUT you won't see one of them being showcased as an example of fitness, cause they smoke.

I'm curious, too, if they can't tell the levels of nicotine, etc from urinalysis or blood tests, just like they do with other drugs.

I think in many instances, lack of exercise, bad eating habits, lousy schedules, and bad working conditions are overlooked when smoking is such an EASY answer even though it often isn't the RIGHT answer.

I'm curious, too, if they can't tell the levels of nicotine, etc from urinalysis or blood tests, just like they do with drugs.