Health and Money Saved
I mentioned last week that I had my annual physical and that my blood pressure was very good now that I’m not smoking. (Smoking doesn’t always cause high blood pressure, but it makes the effects of high blood pressure more problematic.)
I also had the blood work done to check my triglycerides–which had been very high in late January–so high, in fact, that my physician wanted me to take statins to help control it.
She and I agreed, however, that I should be retested first, just in case kicking cigarettes had a positive impact on my cholesterol. It did! No meds needed!
WARNING! A GENTLE NUDGE FROM THE HEALTH WRITER AT THE INSURANCE COMPANY: Per Consumer Reports, it would cost between $360 and $1,800 a year for the statins that would have been used to treat my formerly high triglyceride levels and $264 to $1,800 a year for calcium channel blockers to treat my formerly high blood pressure.
These dollars don’t include doctor visits and medical tests to monitor my conditions. And they don’t take into consideration the cost of diseases that these conditions cause, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure…Etcetera! Etcetera! Etcetera!
I don’t see anyone losing from my kicking the habit–except for the cigarette companies. Tough luck, fellas.
