2026 Health Insurance Premiums
In 2026 health insurance premiums will rise for nicotine vapers. In most states, an insurer can charge as much as 50% more for a person who vapes nicotine For example, if the base premium for somebody your age would otherwise be $200 per month, a vaper’s premium could be $300 per month.
- Some states prohibit insurers from applying a tobacco surcharge: for 2026 the list is: California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Note they only prohibit surcharges on individually purchased or Marketplace plans – if you are covered by your employer, your employer is free to charge you more for vaping.
- Some states have limits on tobacco surcharges: Arkansas (20%), Colorado (15%), and Kentucky (40%). Again, these caps don’t apply to insurance you get through your employer.
2026 Life Insurance
Most insurers classify vape use as tobacco use because vape juice often contains nicotine, which insurers test for using a urine test to determine that there is a negative nicotine/cotinine marker in your urine sample.
Here are average annual life insurance rates for nonsmokers and smokers for a 20-year term life policy with $500,000 in coverage from NerdWallet.
| Age | Average annual rate for nonsmokers | Average annual rate for smokers |
|---|---|---|
| 20, female | $177 | $586 |
| 20, male | $214 | $760 |
| 30, female | $185 | $658 |
| 30, male | $215 | $795 |
| 40, female | $280 | $1,187 |
| 40, male | $332 | $1,489 |
What if you fib about vaping?
If you’re looking at over $1,000 a year in additional health and life insurance costs, the temptation to fudge your answers, or hope you can quit vaping cold turkey is strong! What could go wrong?
To start — misrepresenting your vaping habit can be considered insurance fraud and may result in policy cancellation or denied claims. If your health insurance carrier finds out you vape, they may deny your insurance claim for any conditions related to nicotine use or vaping.
Second, insurance carriers share data about enrollees who lie, so you could be blacklisted from getting coverage from other carriers.
Third, instead of cancelling your policy, they may retroactively increase your premiums.
Fourth, in most states misrepresentation on insurance applications is considered fraud, so your insurance company may pursue legal action against you. The penalties for insurance fraud can be severe, ranging from fines to jail time.
Solution? Cut the Nic
We hope this article gave you another reason to throw away your vape! But, we know that’s hard – cold turkey works for fewer than 5% of vapers – 95% return to vaping, often at a higher puff count than before.
So check out HabitHalo’s vaping control products:
FREE: PuffPal AI driven motivation app that encourages you to stay on your control plan with on-demand motivation.
RipLok: HabitHalo’s product for people who struggle to use just apps to get back in control. RipLok combines and app with a connected vape case that helps you gradually reduce your puffs per day. Just pop your favorite vape into the case and let it lock until it’s time for your next puff. The app shows you how many puffs you took each day, and what time of the day you puff the most. The combination of tracking, AI motivation and a locking case help vapers get back in control or step down.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/insurance/life-insurance-nonsmoker