With the economic and societal costs of smoking totaling more than $300 billion a year and rising, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on The Real Cost of Smoking by State as well as accompanying videos.
To encourage the estimated 37.8 million tobacco users in the U.S. to kick the dangerous habit, WalletHub calculated the potential monetary losses — including the lifetime and annual costs of a cigarette pack per day, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs — brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.
States with the Lowest Smoking Costs
1. Georgia
2. Missouri
3. North Carolina
4. Mississippi
5. South Carolina
6. Tennessee
7. Alabama
8. North Dakota
9. Arkansas
10. Wyoming
States with the Highest Smoking Costs
42. Washington
43. Vermont
44. Minnesota
45. Hawaii
46. Alaska
47. Rhode Island
48. Massachusetts
49. District of Columbia
50. New York
51. Connecticut
Key Stats
- The estimated financial cost of smoking over a lifetime is just above $1.9 million per smoker.
- The out-of-pocket cost per smoker is $123,308 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay the highest cost, $194,899, which is 2.3 times higher than in Missouri, where smokers will pay the lowest cost at $86,001.
- Each smoker will incur an average of $237,605 in income loss over a lifetime. Smokers in Maryland will lose the highest amount, $321,977, which is 1.9 times higher than in Mississippi, where smokers will lose the lowest amount at $171,397.
Each smoker will incur an average of $172,801 in smoking-related health-care costs over a lifetime. Smokers in Connecticut will pay the highest amount, $289,154, which is 2.5 times higher than in Kentucky, where smokers will pay the lowest amount at $117,094.
As far as the Buckeye State, Ohio Ranked 23rd.
To view the full report, click here.
Photo courtesy of Drew Angerer / Getty Images
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