It won't come as any surprise that the percentage of doctors who smoke is a tiny fraction of the percentage of smokers in the general population.

Being exposed to the physical effects of smoking on a constant basis is clearly a deterrent, but what I am wondering is if a similar deterrence affect is prevalent among life insurance actuaries, who work every day with the cold, hard numbers on smoking related death.

I am currently looking into a life insurance program for our South American real estate partners, and while anyone intuitively knows that smoker's rates would be higher, it is really striking to see the hard-dollar difference.

Let me give you some general quotes (not for a specific person) for a $10 million life insurance policy, level pay for 10 years, which means that a fixed premium is due annually, but there is no cash value at the end of term if the insured is still alive.

First, there are two general categories, preferred and standard. Preferred is for generally healthy people who, as the agent so delicately put it, "are tall enough for their weight." Other factors like scuba diving, piloting a private plane, and mountain climbing can have an affect on rates.

So, for a 60-year-old man, the annual premium for the preferred category for a $10 million policy is $35K, and the standard is $57K. But smokers have a whole class unto themselves; the foregoing quotes are for non-smokers only.

For a 60-year-old male smoker, the preferred premium is $106K and the standard is $148K. So a 60-year old smoker who has, for example, high cholesterol, will be paying more than four times as much as his healthy, non-smoking, same-age counterpart.

I know (or at least strongly suspect) there are at least a couple smokers out there reading this entry and yes, this is directed at you. Please stop smoking...the doctors know it, the insurance actuaries know it and I think you know it too...you are killing yourself every time you light up. I have known people who have quit heroin, crack, and all manner of addictive drugs, so it is possible to quit. Stop now while you're still alive.