States where smoking is most, least expensive over a lifetime: report
Regardless of where you live, smoking is an expensive habit
William La Jeunesse on smoking age
The cost of smoking isn’t only about your health. It’s also about your finances.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 34.2 million American adults smoke. The CDC estimates that smoking costs the U.S. more than $300 billion a year.
Of that amount, the U.S. is estimated to spend more than $225 billion in direct medical care and more than $156 billion in lost productivity because of early death and exposure secondhand smoke, according to the CDC.
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Smoking doesn’t just cost the U.S., the habit also has a high price for the individuals who smoke.
On Wednesday, WalletHub published a report that found how much it costs to be a smoker over the course of a lifetime in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
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For its report, WalletHub "calculated the potential monetary losses…brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke," the report said.
Those possible financial losses included the cost of cigarettes, the financial opportunity cost – calculated with the amount a person would have earned if they had invested the cost of cigarettes, rather than spend it on cigarettes –, health care cost per smoker, income loss per smoker, and other costs per smoker.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 34.2 million American adults smoke. The CDC estimates that smoking costs the U.S. more than $300 billion a year. (iStock)
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WalletHub made its calculations based on an adult who smokes one pack of cigarettes per day, starting at age 21 through age 69, which is the average age at which a smoker dies, according to the personal finance website.
Read on to see the states – including Washington, D.C. – where the cost of smoking is most and least expensive, both in one year and for a lifetime, according to WalletHub.
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Most expensive states to smoke
Washington, D.C., is the most expensive place to be a smoker in the U.S., according to WalletHub. In one year, an adult who smokes one pack of cigarettes a day spends $69,032. Over the course of a lifetime, that adds up to $3,313,530. (iStock)
47. Rhode Island
Total cost per smoker for one year: $62,971
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $3,022,602
48. New York
Total cost per smoker for one year: $64,419
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $3,092,103
49. Massachusetts
Total cost per smoker for one year: $64,738
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $3,107,425
50. Connecticut
Total cost per smoker for one year: $65,447
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $3,141,464
51. Washington, D.C.
Total cost per smoker for one year: $69,032
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $3,313,530
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Least expensive states to smoke
Georgia is the lease expensive state to be a smoker in the U.S., according to WalletHub. In one year, an adult who smokes one pack of cigarettes a day spends $36,504. Over the course of a lifetime, that adds up to $1,752,212. Atlanta is pictured. (iStock)
1. Georgia
Total cost per smoker for one year: $36,504
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $1,752,212
2. Mississippi
Total cost per smoker for one year: $36,614
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $1,757,452
3. Missouri
Total cost per smoker for one year: $36,820
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $1,767,336
4. North Carolina
Total cost per smoker for one year: $36,842
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $1,768,420
5. Alabama
Total cost per smoker for one year: $37,191
Total cost per smoker for a lifetime: $1,785,147