Is smoking a very expensive habit?
If the cigarette carton packaging hasn’t spooked you into quitting, then the amount you’ve been spending on smoking just might.
Smoking puts a huge dent in your wallets than you can possibly imagine. What seems like a small amount of money in the moment, becomes a huge sum in the long run. Discover how much you could be saving by eliminating smoking from your daily routine.
Cost of Smoking by Country
USA
In the US, the average price of a pack of cigarettes has been slowly rising. As of 2023, the average price for a pack is $9.00. If you choose to smoke a pack a day in the U.S. you would be spending around $63.00 dollars a week to keep up with your smoking habits.
U.K
According to the Office for National Statistics, the average price for a pack of 20 cigarettes was £12.84 before a recent price hike. Now the price of a 20-pack is set to soar past the £14-pound mark and stretch the budget to over 6 million smokers. The government hopes that the price spike will encourage quitting as the U.K. aims to be smoke-free by 2030.
EU
While the cost of smoking is different across countries in Europe, the average price for a pack is around €5.57. If you decide to smoke a pack a day in the EU for the year, you will lose around €2,000.
The cost of smoking might seem justifiable on a day-to-day basis, but when added up over the long term it breaks your heart, doesn’t it?
Healthcare and Smoking
USA
The cost of cigarettes is only a fraction of the costs smokers accumulate over the years. This calculation doesn’t take into account indirect costs associated with smoking. These include health care costs, such as doctor visits and medication, as well as lost productivity due to illness or smoking breaks.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking-related illnesses cost the United States more than $300 billion a year in direct medical costs and lost productivity.
Smoking also means higher life insurance costs. Insurance companies know that smokers are a high-risk category. It's impossible to hide the fact that you smoke when you buy insurance. Even if you stop smoking for an extended period of time, traces of nicotine can pop up in your medical tests which means more cost for care.
UK
The cost of cigarettes is only a fraction of the costs smokers accumulate over the years. This calculation doesn’t take into account indirect costs associated with smoking. These include health care costs, such as private doctor visits and medication, as well as lost productivity due to illness or smoking breaks.
Between 2019 to 2020, there were an estimated 506,100 smoking-related admissions into England hospitals. One in 4 patients in a hospital bed is a smoker.
Smoking doesn't just impact the health of the smoker but also the people around them. The Royal College of Physicians has estimated that each year in the UK, children's exposure to secondhand smoke leads to more than 20,000 instances of lower respiratory tract infection. These cases result in over 9,000 hospital admissions and cost the NHS about £23.3 million.
EU
The cost of cigarettes is only a fraction of the costs smokers accumulate over the years. This calculation doesn’t take into account indirect costs associated with smoking. These include health care costs, such as private doctor visits and medication, as well as lost productivity due to illness or smoking breaks.
Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of death and the most significant cause of death in the EU. Around 50% of smokers die on average 14 years earlier. The estimated total cost of smoking, encompassing both direct and indirect expenses for EU/EFTA nations, stands at €97.7 billion a year.
Recent studies linked smoking and smoking-related ill health to early retirement and other forms of economic inactivity due to incapacity. These losses have negative impacts on the smoker and the economy.
Time to quit
Quitting smoking can be challenging, but it's important to remember that it's never too late to quit. Quitting can lead to significant improvements in your physical and mental health and a reduction in medical costs over time.
There are many ways to quit smoking. One of the best stop-smoking aids is to explore aromatherapy. There are many types of aromatherapy, but the most effective ones are diffusers without nicotine. They are an increasingly popular option for those who want to enjoy the experience of vaping without the harmful side effects.
The benefits of going smoke-free are innumerable and can lead to a significant improvement in your health and those around you while reducing your medical costs over time.
