WalletHub News:
With Tobacco-Free Awareness Week reminding us of the societal and economic costs of smoking, which total more than $320 billion a year and rising, the personal finance website WalletHub has released its report on The True Cost of Smoking by State, which ranks New Mexico number 30 in the nation.
To encourage the more than 66 million tobacco users in the U.S. to kick the dangerous habit, WalletHub’s analysts calculated the potential monetary losses — including the cumulative cost of a cigarette pack per day over several decades, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs — brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.
WalletHub estimates the financial cost of smoking in the U.S. to be roughly $1.6 million per smoker over a lifetime.
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States with the Lowest Smoking Costs
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States with the Highest Smoking Costs
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1
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Louisiana
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42
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District of Columbi
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2
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Kentucky
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43
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New Jersey
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3
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Missouri
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44
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Washington
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4
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West Virginia
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45
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Minnesota
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5
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North Carolina
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46
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Rhode Island
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6
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Georgia
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47
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Connecticut
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7
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Tennessee
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48
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Hawaii
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8
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South Carolina
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49
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Alaska
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9
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Mississippi
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50
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Massachusetts
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10
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Alabama
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51
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New York
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Key Findings
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The out-of-pocket cost per smoker is $115,214 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay two times more than smokers in Missouri.
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The financial opportunity cost per smoker is $1,089,471 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay two times more than smokers in Missouri.
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Each smoker will incur an average of $220,855 in income loss over a lifetime. Smokers in Mississippi will lose the least, $161,013, which is 2 times less than in Maryland, the state that will lose the most.
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Each smoker will incur an average of $164,876 in smoking-related health-care costs over a lifetime. Smokers in Massachusetts will pay two times more than smokers in Kentucky.
To read the full report, visit here.