Although many people realize that smoking is bad for your health, few realize just how big of an impact it can have on your wallet. If you are finding it difficult to quit smoking the following information may just change your mind. This may also be the reason why people are making the switch to vaping (Go to www.davincivaporizer.com to check it out) with those handheld vaporizers because of the savings you can get. Let’s take a look at just how expensive smoking can be:
- The actual cost of cigarettes – Thanks to cigarette taxes and the higher prices of tobacco, cigarettes are more expensive than ever. If you are on a budget this can easily eat away at your monthly expenses. Even if you are purchasing budget cigarettes, the price is still quite high. When you figure that the average pack costs at least three dollars you can easily spend more than $90 a month if you smoke a pack a day.
- The cost of smoking has on your health insurance – Whether or not you are currently covered by a health insurance policy you may not realize you are actually paying more for the privilege of being a smoker. Health insurance companies charge an additional percentage for smokers and depending on how high your premium is this can add up very quickly. In fact you can end up spending an extra $200 a month just because you smoke.
- The toll smoking takes on your daily life – If you’ve been smoking for several years, chances are, you may find it difficult to take part in many daily activities. Whether it’s chasing your kids around, or a long trek to the parking lot, after time the damage the smoking does to your lungs can make these activities nearly impossible. You may find yourself avoiding these activities and as such avoiding much of life.
- The cost of smoking related health problems – Perhaps the most obvious cost of smoking is the money that you will pay to repair the damage you’ve inflicted on yourself. Whether it’s continuous respiratory infections caused by irritated lung passages, or even cancer, the costs for these health procedures are immense. When you add this to the amount of money you’re already paying in increased health insurance premiums it is clear that smoking can be incredibly expensive.
- The cost to quit smoking – The smoking cessation industry brings in millions of dollars every year. It is big business to try to help people kick this habit that can be very difficult to break. Whether you are paying for prescription medication to help you stop smoking, or you are trying natural methods such as hypnotism, these all can be expensive.
These are just a few examples of how smoking can impact not only your health but also your wallet. Even know many of us do understand that smoking is harmful, it can be difficult to put that pack away. While quitting smoking can be costly as illustrated above, when you compare it to the other expenses you may be facing in the future, it can be considered a very solid investment. Quitting smoking is not easy but perhaps this information about just how much it can cost you will help you find the motivation to kick the habit.
For more health tips that may save your life as well as your wallet, visit Lazy Man and Health.
Certainly, smoking may seem like a habit of the rich and famous. but her smokers don’t realize the after effects of smoking after 10 years down the line when they start having and showing signs of smoking. this will then have an after effect to them financially as well. Not to forget the health issue.
Not just health insurance but life insurance- I used to work for an insurance company and the underwriters would increase monthly premiums by 50-75% for smoking (depending on age, I believe).
In MA it’s more like $6.50 a pack. Almost $200/month. :-/
There is also the cost of being away from work or from life in general. Smokers have to step away from work or whatever they are doing to smoke. It takes up a lot of time, and of course, time is money.
I’m a smoker and it is a horrible habit. I have tried to quit a few times, once made it about 2 months but then started smoking again. I’m going to try again though. I wish I never started, I just turned 30 and have been smoking since I was 18 so 12 years. I can’t believe its been 12 years. I am very good with my personal finances but smoking may be my biggest waste of money. Where I live they cost over $7 a pack and I smoke a pack a day. It has left a permanent smell on many of my clothes and throughout my apartment. It is also difficult now since you can’t smoke in any bars or restaurants in most major cities. It sucks to be sitting there comfortably having dinner and a good conversation and having to leave and step outside for a cigarette or sit there and be uncomfortable because of the craving. It is the worst habit I have and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Buying the nicotine gum I used to stop smoking was the best investment I’ve ever made.
Lazyman, my next door neighbor’s deadbeat (unemployed) son just move back in with her and all he does is sit in the backyard and smoke his nasty cigarettes. Every time that smoke floats onto my patio I think how he is smoking her social security monthly payment away…
I freakin loved it when Iowa passed a new law within the last year or two raising our taxes on a pack from $.17 to $1.17.
I realize it’s a double-edged sword (those who already are addicted will cut back elsewhere- such as providing for their kids), but I really hope it will discourage youth from starting.
Make gas more expensive- people use less of it. Same thing with cigs.
I think that a good way to profit from this addiction is to purchase MO and PM.
That’s what I will be doing next month at least.
For commited smokers, a serious commitment will be involved in order to quit – and stay quit! For folks looking to overhaul their financial situation, it seems like a great time to kill two birds with one stone and make a commitment to improving both your health and your finances. Not having to buy a $7 pack of cigarettes everyday would certainly make it easier to tuck away nearly $50 a week in an interest-bearing account.
You can literally breathe a little easier about health and money concerns.
Observant post!
There is a huge hidden cost to smoking, I know I’m a smoker and I wish I could spend 3$ a pack like you describe. I’m paying between 8 and 9 for a small pack and over 10 for a large one. So my less than half a pack a day addiction amounts to about 100-120 a month.
Unfortunately Lazy, convincing a smoker of the financial aspect is easy they get that part. You can even introduce the opportunity cost of all the compound interest they’ll loose over years. You need to prep and convince yourself you need to quit… and how you do that changes from person to person.
There is one cost you didn’t mention … early death. Can’t buy yourself out of that one. :)
Heh. You can add dental expenses and tooth whitener to this list of expenses :)
Great post, no one seems to understand that for all actions there is a equal and opposite reaction. Smoking is like having a credit card and maxing it out as fast as you can.
Smokes are only $.50 in Iraq. It saves me money but it makes it harder to quit
Smoking in other countries comes with a cheap price because its big business. But it also comes with a price because your health is on the line.
Did you know that smoking causes sexual arousal to deteriorate? The blood flow is blocked depriving erection. So I guess we need to think twice about that department the next time.
I’ve tried to quit ONE time. Not sure when I’ll try again. It was awful. The cig manufacturers know what they’re doing. The only things that are probably tougher to quit are Xanax, Crack, Meth, Heroine, etc. I’m going to try the patch next time. Cold turkey did not work for me (I lasted 28 days). Not cool.