Today is “World No Tobacco Day” as designated by the World Heath Organization (WHO). The focus of the day is highlighting the health hazards caused by the use of tobacco products. The health concerns of using tobacco products are widely known, so on “World No Tobacco Day” I would like to encourage those who smoke or use tobacco products to quit for another reason: your wallet.
What it Really Costs
The average price of a pack of cigarettes in the U.S. is approximately $5 including taxes. On April 1 the federal excise tax on tobacco products was tripled, which is causing a rise in the price of tobacco prices, although no new figures on the average price per pack of cigarettes are available yet.
Smoking one pack a day will cost you $1825 per year. Over a (shortened) lifetime this will cost you $478,687. Think I’m kidding? See for yourself using our Compound Interest Calculator (Current Principle $0, Annual Contribution $1825 (365 days * $5/pack), 47 Years (age 18 to 65), at an invested interest rate of 6%).
Play with the numbers on your own and see how much you could save. For example, even if you only smoke one pack per week you could still save $260 per year and $68,196 over a lifetime, not pocket change!
More Financial Benefits
Beyond the obvious financial benefits of how much you can save by not smoking, there are other financial benefits as well. Due to the rising cost of insuring tobacco users, some employers are begining to experiment with penalizing employees that use tobacco products with higher copays and/or rewarding employees that certify that they do not use tobacco products.
Today is the Day
Many employers have tobacco cessation programs designed to give you as much support as you need; take advantage of these programs, they are there to help you. Your employer has a financial motivation to help you quit, but you have both a financial and health motivation to quit. But whatever motivates you, I encourage you to take action to quit.
The website below is a great reference for how to quit smoking (or using other tobacco products), and includes links to many free educational resources, tips, and even support coaches to help you quit.
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May 31, 11:07 am
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