While cigarettes carry a label they are known to cause cancer, they also carry another label: a price tag. Smoking can cost a 24-year old woman an estimated $86,000 over her lifetime, according to Sloan, et al., in "The Price of Smoking." In addition to the average price a smoker pays for cigarettes, the cost of paying for smoking-related medical bills is also a factor that non-smokers do not have to face.
Significance
An estimated one in five Americans smoke, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Americans who smoke a pack each day also may spend more than they spend on clothing. Although cigarette prices range per state and community, the average price of a pack of cigarettes is $5. If a person smokes a pack each day, this translates into nearly $2,000 each year.
Insurance Considerations
Smoking is associated with being a contributor to several different diseases--including lung cancer and emphysema. For this reason, insurance premiums for a smoker tend to be 25 to 35 percent higher than the non-smoker's insurance premium, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Smoking also costs those that do not smoke--they must pay higher insurance premiums in order to support the costs of caring for non-smokers and to treat conditions related to secondhand smoking. Non-smoking Americans pay up to $6 billion each year in healthcare costs.
Effects
Smoking affects a person's financial status not only from the point of sale to purchase the cigarettes, but also for cigarette burns, loss productivity at a job due to illness, lost income for a family due to cigarette and healthcare costs, according to Leistikow in Clinics in Chest Medicine. These costs that a non-smoker does not incur affect every aspect of a smoker's life.
Solution
Smoking can cost a person up to six figures for cigarette costs alone, according to "The Price of Smoking." Smoking also affects your health and can increase your risk of lung cancer, coronary heart disease and other diseases affecting your body's organs, according to the Better Health Channel. Taking steps to quit smoking as quickly as possible offer immediate financial and health rewards.
Potential
If you are considering quitting smoking, speak to your physician or pharmacist, who may be able to recommend ways to reduce withdrawal symptoms. Paying for a smoking cessation program or other method of quitting doubles your chances of effectively quitting, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Paying for nicotine gum or patches can cost between $4 and $5 per day, which can be less than a person would pay for cigarettes.
References
- WomensHealth.gov: The Cost of Smoking Cigarettes
- Orlando Sentinel: Cigarettes Harm Financial Health Too
- Leistikow, BN. "The Human and Financial Costs of Smoking." Clinics in Chest Medicine. March 21, 2000.
- Sloan, et al. "The Price of Smoking." December 2004.
- Better Health Channel: Smoking--The Financial Cost
