Comments: Stop Smoking

Here's another post highlighting some of the comments received here at Free Money Finance.

I've posted about smoking and how people should give it up to save a ton of money. I've also posted about how it's killing our nation's finances.

As you can imagine, there's been a lot of feedback on this topic from both sides. Today, I'll share a few of those comments.  Here's the first:

"Quitting smoking is a great idea - there was an article in The Week about this. Apparently in a study by Ohio State, they found that smokers saved less than non-smokers because they didn't consider smoking in their budget, I discussed it at my blog."

I love it when people agree with me. :-) Here was my response to that comment:

"Yep, this stuff can really add up. If someone smokes half a pack a day and a pack costs $5, that's $913 per year wasted, if it's a pack a day, that's $1,825 and if it's two packs a day, that's $3,650 -- all money that's literally gone up in smoke. Then multiply this by five, ten, or twenty years that people smoke, add in what they could have earned if they had invested the money, and consider the extra health care costs of smokers and you can really see that from a financial point of view, smoking does not pay. If you visit here again, please leave the link to your article. I think people would like to read it."

Here's another person who's agreeable:

"Wow, cool post. I did the math for my father-in-law...I even low-balled the numbers. Check this out. He has been smoking a pack a day for 50 YEARS. Let's just average that at 2 dollars a pack for 365 days a year. That THIRTY SIX THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. And this is probably a very low estimate. WOW!"

And here's a testimony:

"My best friend finally quit 9 days ago after smoking for about 10-11 years. His parents paid for the acupuncture treatment. He smoked about a pack a day at 3.75/day for a sum of about 13687.5. It's more than he paid for his car. Now he uses his extra money for "toys". It's like you said in It's not what you earn, it's what you spend that determines your net worth."

However, life as a blogger that recommends people quit smoking is not all a bed of roses:

"Why should I quit smoking? First off....all the COOL people smoke. Nothing is cooler then seeing someone light up a cig and take a drag. Second off, smoking is not bad for your health. Asians smoke 3 packs a day and will outlive most Americans. I will quit smoking when Americans quit shoving oreo cookies and twinkies down their throats. Lastly, MO is the greatest stock in the world. MO has more money then most nations on this planet. Keep the lawsuits coming ...yet MO is still rolling in cash.....cash is coming out of their wazoooo...."

Smoking is not bad for your health? Not sure what planet this person is living on, but it's not earth! Alas, he has a friend (though it's just one interested in the money):

"Concur with MO rules. Proud owner of MO. Whether you smoke or not, you are putting MO in your mouth everyday."

And another, though he qualifies it a bit:

"I agree. There is nothing wrong with an occasional smoke and tobacco stocks are great investments!"

What do you think? Do you have any comments?

Comments

[jim]

Since I wrote my article first, you agreed with me. :)

I love it when people agree with me.

haha

[Andrew Spark]

Making smoking a more-distasteful behavior than it already is is the only fair and honest way to stop it. The smoker’s surcharge is another step on that road.

[Tony James]

It's a great way to quit smoking. Start calculating your total expenses and it will scare the hell out of you. And it's always inspiring to see the support for people who wants to quit smoking whether it is due to financial reasons. I have been an ex-smoker myself for 15 years. That is why I know exactly how it feels and also how to deal with the withdrawal symptoms and the psychological aspect of it.

I now publish a newsletter to help people quit smoking with ease without the discomfort of cravings.

It is at:

http://www.easyquitsmokingsecrets.com

Feel free to subscribe to it,

All the best to attaining a smoke-free life!