A short post today for all of you who smoke or know people who smoke.
Summary: You're paying a lot of money to kill yourself.
Buying cigarettes 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 (or more!) that people smoke, add in what they could have earned if they had invested the money. Then consider the extra health care and insurance costs of smokers and you can really see that from a financial point of view, smoking does not pay.
Update: Time to post to the Beltway Traffic Jam.
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!
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Posted by: ncnblog | June 15, 2005 at 09:30 AM
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.
Posted by: Joshua Kersey | June 15, 2005 at 12:22 PM
Seems like we have a similar way of thinking.
An article on my blog that discusses the same ideas:
http://aneshome.com/pivot/entry.php?id=137
Posted by: Jose Anes | July 05, 2005 at 12:48 PM
I think smoking makes the lung weak and susptible to a range of chest disease including tuberculosis and asthma etc.Therfore we need to ban on it.
Posted by: Andrew Spark | February 18, 2006 at 07:31 AM
This article has been referenced in my blog:
http://www.aneshome.com/pivot/entry.php?id=215
Posted by: Jose | February 27, 2006 at 01:02 PM
Well, almost everyone has some kind of habit that costs a lot of money over the years ... trading cards, cable TVs, sport teams, video games, brand fashions, junk food, fine dining, travelling ... so why pick on the smokers?
Well, you would say smoking is a *bad* habit, it is wasting money ... then to someone who is not a fan of travelling, it is also a waste of money.
$36,500 over 50 years? How many things you spend on that will give your continuous pleasure for over 50 years that costs ONLY $36,500?
I don't understand a society where gays are supposed to be tolerated but the smokers are not.
The #1 public health hazard in the US right now is not smoking, it is obesity. When are they start over-taxing the junk food, and putting it outside of the cafes?
Well, in case you are wondering, I don't smoke, and I never smoked. I hate second-hand smoking, but I feel sorry for the smokers standing outside of the office building in cold weather ... don't they at least deserve a well-vented room in the building? They are the ones to be conveniently taxed on whenever there is a government budget crisis, aren't they?
Posted by: nick | June 17, 2006 at 08:45 AM
We're trying to save them! No one stands by and watches a child run in to a street of on coming traffic. You warn people when a floor is slippery, you prevent someone from touching something that is hot and will burn them. Smoking kills and every one pays either in higher medical costs, the loss of their contribution to their company or the loss of their companionship. Moreover, it's not a habit, it's a serious addiction. So if you truly have compassion for smokers, help them quit.
Posted by: Terrence Bedford | November 07, 2008 at 05:11 PM
Arrange to be with people who can offer you support and try to avoid those who are smokers as this can lead to unnecessary temptation. In the initial stages of your program you won't want these temptations and socializing with certain people will need to be postponed until you are in a position where you can handle having them around without feeling the need to have a cigarette of your own.
Posted by: | August 02, 2009 at 06:52 PM
nick,
Smoking is the leading cause of death in the U.S.
For good measure, I frown upon fat people too. As for gay people, last time I checked being gay has no associated health risks. Also, traveling or getting cable doesn't attack your body.
Posted by: Shannon | November 28, 2011 at 09:47 PM