As we approach national No Smoking Day on the 11th March – we ask just what is the cost of smoking?
The cost of smoking to the UK Government is approximately £12.6 billion a year, made up of £1.4 billion spent on social care for smoking related care needs, £2.5 billion spent on NHS services and £8.6 billion of lost productivity in businesses*. But what is smoking costing you personally?
The cost of smoking on your health
Half of all life-long smokers die early, losing on average 10 years of their life. Smoking related deaths made up 16% of all deaths across the UK in 2016 and smoking is the largest cause of preventable death in England. Smoking has an effect on most organs, here is how:
- Brain: Smoking increases the risk of having a stroke by at least 50%
- Heart: Smoking can double the risk of having a heart attack
- Bones: Smoking can cause bones to become week and brittle which increases the risk of osteoporosis in women
- Lungs: Smoking causes 84% of deaths from lung cancer and 83% of deaths from COPD
- Circulation: Smoking increases blood pressure and heart rate
- Fertility: Smoking can cause a lack of sexual appetite and impotency in men, and can make it harder for females to conceive
- Mouth and throat: Smoking can increase the risk of cancer in lips, tongue, throat, voice box and gullet
- Stomach: Smoking increases the chance of getting stomach cancer or ulcers
- Skin: Smoking prematurely ages skin by between 10 and 20 years
The cost of smoking on your bank account
On average, smokers smoke 10 cigarettes a day; with a packet of cigarettes costing £10.80 that’s a spend of £37.80 per week, or £1971 per year. For that you could buy:
- The average cost of a holiday abroad, including hotel, flights and entertainment is approximately £815 for 9 nights. That’s two holidays with additional spending money.
- The average food shop in 2019 for a family was £60.60 per week, that’s just over 32 weeks of shopping.
- A large Americano at Costa costs £2.40, you could get a coffee every day for £16.80, less than the £37.80 for the smoking habit
- The average price of a litre of fuel in the UK is now around £1.24 for petrol and £1.30 for diesel; that means you can fill a small car with petrol for £49.60 and with diesel for £52
- The average monthly cost of owning a cat or a rabbit is £94, that’s 2.5 weeks of no smoking
Everyone Health offers services to help you quit. Working with Staffordshire Council, we provide a stop smoking service for 50+ year olds and pregnant women registered with 20 particular GP services. Take a look at the website today, call: 0333 005 0095 or fill in a referral form.