Smoking: How To Quit Smoking [ And Ruin Yourself! ]

 Smoking: How To Quit Smoking [ And Ruin Yourself! ]

Smoking is both a scourge for your health and your finances, because everyone knows it: cigarettes are expensive. So I’m going to talk to you about this little habit that blackens both your lungs and your finances, and give you some tips on how to quit smoking without too much difficulty.

How cigarette smokes your budget

A €20 note disappears so quickly! We buy a little thing here, we pay for a beer there.

It is important to have fun. But it’s easy to overspend. However, when you have modest incomes, it is a bit annoying.

With a pack of cigarettes around 7 €, you will quickly waste your hard-earned money without even noticing it, with small harmless withdrawals. You know very well what I’m talking about 😉

This money slips discreetly into the coffers of the State and tobacco companies while emptying yours. In the end, your cigarette is not the only one to have been well rolled!

Do the math!

As this blog aims to give you advice to save your money and not your health, I will not lecture you too much on this side 😛

Smoking is bad for you and you know it, no need to harp on it.

On the money side, on the other hand, the situation is just as dark!

I have unearthed some statistics for you that may make you want to end your meals with a small espresso rather than a lager.

According to the INPES 2010 health barometer, a smoker smokes an average of 13.6 cigarettes per day. Knowing that a package costs around 7 €, we can deduce that the average smoker burns an average of 143 € per month just in cigarettes!

That’s the price of a weekend by the sea!

Pregnant women: this is the price of a very nice bed for your future baby (and the price of its peace of mind too).

That’s €1,713 per year, and that’s not counting the costs related to health problems that you inflict on yourself in the long term.

Click on the image to have fun doing the math with your consumption on the Tobacco Info Service website 😉

This means that each month, a smoker could save €100 to €200 or treat himself to a very appreciable little pleasure if he smoked less.

2 cigarettes is not much, right? Well if you just smoke 2 less cigarettes a day, you’ll save €255 over a year!

It also means that after 5 years, a non-smoker saves enough money compared to a smoker to invest. Meanwhile, his smoking friend continues to literally blow his money up in smoke! One triggers a virtuous circle while the other continues in its vicious circle!

A real hole in your finances!

From a financial point of view, smoking is a liability, that is to say an expense that in addition to costing you money, also makes you lose more in the longer term.

On the other hand, from a pleasure point of view, I agree, the cigarette has its interest. Like everything in life, moderation is key.

If you quit smoking suddenly, you’ll get grumpy and you won’t feel well.

What’s the point of saving money if it’s to put you in a bad mood? On the other hand, it is interesting to reduce your consumption to save your health and your money without giving up your daily pleasures.

In any case, you will benefit from paying a minimum of attention to the long-term consequences of your actions.

Not sure that at 50 you would be happy to have to take treatment or undergo an operation, even light, to try to catch up with the consequences of a habit, useless moreover, taken thirty years earlier.

At this stage of the article, I realize that it is very difficult to write about cigarettes while remaining focused on the financial aspect only and without adopting a condescending tone. So please forgive me if you feel I’m lecturing you too much. I too have my bad habits: I drink and I don’t play sports 😀

Smoking and insecurity go well together

…and that’s not really a surprise. Still according to INPES, know that the unemployed smoke more than the active. Well, that looks oddly like gambling statistics, which say that “75.5% of excessive gamblers are men with low incomes”2.

Cause or origin of the problem, poverty and precariousness are always closely linked to addictions.

Therefore, if you aspire to improve your finances for good, it might be a good idea not to constantly live in excess. And I’m not just talking about cigarettes.

You will pay more and more

Between 2000 and 2013, the price of a pack of cigarettes more than doubled1, and not just in France! States around the world are increasing taxes.

The gossips will say that it is to extract more and more money from us, and I quite agree on this point. But let’s not forget that tobacco is expensive for the state in terms of health and prevention costs.

Thus, the research firm Microeconomix recently caused a stir by calculating that a price of €13 per pack would be necessary for tobacco consumption to stop weighing down society financially (expenses AND income related to tobacco combined).

This study may seem far-fetched because it takes into account in particular the working time lost in cigarette breaks and the costs related to death and illness. It’s a bit far fetched. A break, cigarette or not, remains necessary when working… Nevertheless, it has the merit of being precise and informative.

So what do you suggest?

I already propose to inform you a minimum about everything you consume in general, because it will not hurt you.

Then, gradually limit your consumption.

Take breaks: 1 week or even 1 month without smoking here and there, it will do you good and you will be proud of yourself. But above all: if you force yourself not to smoke any cigarettes for a week, you will realize how often you smoke (I swear!).

You will be able to learn to control yourself and better enjoy the few cigarettes you smoke, rather than chaining them without savoring them.

Otherwise, if patches and other medical solutions are right for you, why not use them? The electronic cigarette can be a good alternative, but no one yet really knows the long-term effects of e-liquids on our body. Health scandals exist and we are not immune to them. Be aware that the e-cigarette will save you around €1000 per month3.

Go read my article on the dangers and advantages of electronic cigarettes. You can find them everywhere on the internet and for very little money!

If you have any comments or suggestions, share them below 🙂