Smoking can be an expensive habit. When someone considers the costs of smoking, he/she may generally think about the price they pay for a pack of cigarettes. But there are a lot of hidden costs too - some that may increase personal expenses and others that may devalue certain assets. At the end of a year, the smoking habit can actually cost several times more than just the price of cigarettes.

You know that quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health. And it may be the biggest reason you decide to quit. But considersome of the other costs that aren’t so obvious, or the savings you could realize, and maybe that might encourage you, or someone you care about, to quit for good.

Smoking may affect the following:

  • Retirement savings potential - A pack a day habit can cost about $4.50 — or 22.5 cents per cigarette. That’s $1,642.50 a year. If you invested that amount every year for 30 years instead, you’d save yourself almost $130,000* — or about 59 cents per un-smoked cigarette.
  • Taxes - Uncle Sam currently collects $630 per American household each year in federal and state taxes to help pay for the many health problems caused by smoking.
  • Home resale value–Smoking may encourage lower offers or even be a deal-breaker when selling a house. Services to eliminate smoke smell from a home can cost thousands and deduct from your profits. Like about $2,000 to prime and paint several interior rooms; and around $280 to deodorize and replace 1,000 sq. ft. of carpet.*
  • Car trade-in value–Car dealers can knock off as much as $1,000 or more on vehicles that have smoke smell, burn holes in carpet and upholstery, and nicotine stains.

Other costs affected by smoking, but harder – or even impossible - to estimate, may include:

  • Insurance premiums & associated losses– smoking may affect the rates you pay for car, homeowner’s and/or health insurance. Take homeowner’s insurance for instance. Rates may be potentially higher due to the risk of smoking-caused fires. In fact, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there wereapproximately 142,900 smoking-related home fires in the U.S.in 2006, which resulted in the loss of about 780 lives, 1,600 injuries and $606 million in property damage. One out of four of the fatalities reported included a person who was not the smoker whose cigarette caused the fire.
  • Health care – These costs can add up quickly over a month or a year. They can include the costs you pay out of your pocket for copays, deductibles, and the costs of frequent doctor’s visits, ER visits, dental care and medications to help take care of health problems associated with smoking.

There are more potential hidden costs associated with smoking than are listed here. These are just some of the ways that smoking can affect your personal finances beyond the costs of cigarettes alone. To help hold on to more of your hard-earned dollars, quit smoking for good.

For more information on smoking cessation, visit bcbsga.com.

Additional quit smoking andtobacco resources:

  • Smoke-free for Everyone
  • Smoke-free Women
  • National Cancer Institute

*Based on a $4.50 per pack per day average invested at 6% interest. Costs per pack may be higher depending on where you live. Estimated savings in this ad exclude taxes paid on interest.

Certain factual or statistical information contained in this ad was derived from the following source(s):

Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids –

The High Cost of Smoking, by Hilary Smith, Sept. 3, 2008, MSN Money -

Contractors.com

National Institutes of Health, Tobacco use and asking prices of used cars: prevalence, costs, and new opportunities for changing smoking behavior, Georg E Matt,1 Romina Romero,2 Debbie S Ma,1 Penelope JE Quintana,3 Melbourne F Hovell,3 Michael Donohue,4 Karen Messer,4 Simon Salem,1 Mauricio Aguilar,1 Justin Boland,1 Jennifer Cullimore,1 Marissa Crane,1 Jonathan Junker,1 Peter Tassinario,1 Vera Timmermann,1 Kristen Wong,1 and Dale Chatfield,1 Tob Induc Dis. 2008; 4(1): 2.; Published online 2008 July 31. doi: 10.1186/1617-9625-4-2,

Get Rich: Quit Smoking, by Kelli B. Grant, Jan. 5, 2007, Wall Street Journal,

National Fire Protection Association -