The real cost of smoking: 10, 20 and 30 years

Let us start with one cigarette. In Birmingham, at current prices, a typical pack of 20 costs around £15.50. That is roughly 78p per cigarette.

One does not feel like much. They almost never do — that is part of the trap.

A 20-a-day habit

20 a day at £15.50 a pack is:

• £108.50 a week
• £465 a month
• £5,657 a year

That is one summer holiday for a family of four. Every single year. Set on fire.

Stretched over a working life

Now let us run that forward. (We are keeping prices flat — they will almost certainly rise.)

• 5 years: £28,283
• 10 years: £56,565
• 20 years: £113,130
• 30 years: £169,695

Many of our members have smoked since their late teens. By the time they walk through our doors in their forties or fifties, the lifetime cost is often well into six figures. We have had people work it out on the calculator on our hero page and go quiet for a moment.

A lighter habit

If you smoke 10 a day, the numbers are still significant:

• 1 year: £2,829
• 10 years: £28,283
• 20 years: £56,565

Even 10 a day costs you a small car every few years.

What £5,657 a year could become

Imagine that money sat in a separate account from the day you quit. Even at modest interest, in 10 years a 20-a-day saver could have over £65,000. In 20 years, comfortably over £150,000.

That is a deposit. A pension top-up. A wedding. A kitchen. Your child's first car. A genuinely better retirement.

The hidden costs

And we have not even counted:

• Higher home and car insurance premiums for smokers.
• Higher life insurance premiums — often significantly.
• Dental work for stained teeth and gum disease.
• Time off work for smoking-related illness.
• Cleaning, repainting, replacing soft furnishings.

And the cost of stopping?

At our clinic, 12 weeks of expert support, your full NRT package and fortnightly one-to-one care is FREE for those who don't pay for NHS prescriptions — and just one single prescription charge for the entire 12 weeks if you do.

Stopping smoking is the easiest financial decision you will ever make.

Service free for those who don't pay for NHS prescriptions. One single prescription charge for the full 12 weeks if you do pay for prescriptions. Cigarette prices accurate at time of writing; check current packs locally.