The high cost of smoking

If the threat of cancer can't persuade you to quit smoking, maybe the prospect of poverty will.

The financial consequences of lighting up stretch far beyond the cost of a pack of cigarettes. Smokers pay more for insurance. They lose money on the resale value of their cars and homes. They spend extra on dry cleaning and teeth cleaning. Long term, they earn less and receive less in pension and Social Security benefits.

While your health should be the main reason to quit smoking, when you come to realize that you may be spending close to $10,000 a year because of your smoking habit, this may be one more motivating force to kick the habit:

Life Insurance: Smokers have a greater risk of dieing at a younger age than non smokers and this risk is reflected in higher life insurance premium payments.



Health Insurance: Smokers have a greater risk of medical problems than non smokers and this risk is reflected in their medical insurance premium payments.

Health Care: Since smokers frequently have more medical problems than non smokers, they must pay more to take care of these problems.

Medications: More medical problems for smokers usually results more prescription medicine taken by smokers than non smokers.

Home Owner's Insurance: Smokers have a greater risk of burning down their house than non smokers and this risk is reflected in higher home owner's insurance premium payments.



Value of the House: Smoking leaves a bad smell in a house thus decreasing the value to potential buyers.

Value of Your Possessions: Just as with the house, smoking leaves a bad smell to many of the items in your house thus decreasing their value.

Car Insurance: Smokers have a greater risk of getting into a car accident than non smokers and this risk is reflected in their car insurance premium payments.

Car Resale Value: Smoking leaves a bad smell in a car thus decreasing the value to potential buyers or when traded-in for another car.

Earn Less Money: Studies have found that smokers earn between 8% to 11% less money than their non smoking counterparts.

Less Social Security / Pension Benefits: Since smokers earn less than non smokers, they receive less overall social security and pensions benefits than non smokers.

Cost of Cleaning: Whether its the inside of their home, the inside of their car or their clothes, smokers have to spend more to keep things clean.

Dental Care: Smokers spend more on dental care and special dental products than non smokers.



Lost Interest: All the extra money that smokers must spend means that money can't be saved resulting in lost interest.

When you look beyond the cost of the pack of cigarettes and incorporate all the other monetary costs associated with smoking, you begin to see smoking is a huge drain on ones personal finances.

So far, we found that the annual cost of smoking looks something like this:
Cigarettes $1,095
Gas $122
Health insurance $630
Life insurance $250
Reduced wages/salary $1,000-5,000

Total annual cost: $3,097 to $7,097
Decreased car value $500-3,000
Decreased home value $1,000-10,000
Total asset depreciation cost: $1,500 to $13,000
Gulp! That's hard to swallow. These numbers may be more or less for you, but it's probably close.
The Final Insult: Interest
Now, what if you could invest that money in a safe investment that paid just 5% per year? For simplicity, we'll use the lower end of the annual savings, $3,097, and ignore the asset depreciation. Over the course of 30 years, your money would grow to $188,828. Even if you adjust for inflation, your investment is still worth $112,624!
As a smoker you are robbing yourself and your family of thousands of dollars! Your retirement is going up in smoke. And if you need extra cash right now, cutting out cigarettes will deliver instant results.
If the health issues don't convince you to quit smoking, perhaps the financial issues will.

Employers Legally Discriminate Against Smokers
Another intangible cost of smoking is impaired career advancement. Many companies have begun refusing to hire smokers. Employers know that smokers cost more money than non-smokers. Smokers take longer and more frequent breaks throughout the day, use more sick days, and as mentioned previously they cost more to insure.
Whether or not employers have an official policy of not hiring smokers, there may be an unspoken preference for non-smokers. Recently my wife went on a job interview. The owner of the company--who conducted the interview--told my wife that he had instantly eliminated job candidates if he could detect smoke on them during their interview. He was a non-smoker and did not want to hire smokers.
So, how much is your smoking hurting your chances for job advancement and higher pay? This is difficult to calculate, but is likely costing the average smoker several thousand dollars per year! And if you are earning less now, that means your retirement account and Social Security payments will be less when you retire, too.
Other costs of smoking include increased dental care and cleaning costs plus increased clothing cleaning costs. And while not a monetary costs, smokers will find a limited pool of dating candidates since most non-smokers won't date a smoker.

Here are some examples of companys that will NOT hire smokers:

• Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Michigan stopped hiring smokers for full-time positions at both its Michigan campuses.
• Alaska Airlines, based in Washington state, requires a nicotine test before hiring people.
• The Tacoma-Pierce County (Wash.) Health Department has applicants sign an "affidavit of nontobacco use."
• Union Pacific won't hire smokers.

The costs add up: Cigarettes, dry cleaning, insurance -- you can even lose your job. A 40-year-old who quits and puts the savings into a 401(k) could save almost $250,000 by age 70.

Check out the most accurate cost of smoking calculator: http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/smc