Dr Pankaj Shahane, vice president of Health Claims at Digit Insurance, says, “Consuming tobacco-related products is known to cause cancer, lung diseases, chronic bronchitis, and heart-related diseases, among others. If you already have a pre-existing disease (PED) because of smoking-related habits, the insurer might charge a higher premium to issue a health insurance policy. A two to four years waiting period might also be applied for PEDs. This would mean that one would have to complete the requisite PED waiting period before they can avail health insurance benefits for treatments relating to their pre-existing disease.”