The Costs of Smoking

Quitting smoking can save significant amounts of money and time.

Money: Nationally, a pack of cigarettes averages $8.00. This means that someone who smokes a pack a day spends over $2,900 a year on cigarettes alone. This does not include lighters, air fresheners, and other smoking-related products or accessories. Medical costs and time lost from work are additional major costs over the long term.

Time: It takes about 8 minutes to smoke a cigarette plus time to earn money to purchase that cigarette and find a place to smoke it. Because many places have adopted smoke-free policies, finding a smoking-friendly spot is not as easy as it used to be. As a result, a person who smokes one pack a day may end up devoting about 3 hours each day to smoking.