YEAR 10 GASP: STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET

TOPIC: The Financial Cost of Smoking

HOW MUCH DOES SMOKING COST?

The price of cigarettes rises every year, but as it stands, a pack of 20 cigarettes costs between £4.70 and £6.00 (and quite a bit more in the UK!). This means that –

A 20-a-day smoker will spend around £2,000 a year on cigarettes A 10-a-day smoker will spend around £1,000 a year on cigarettes A 5-a-day smoker, and many social smokers will spend at least £450 a year on

cigarettes

This is a table giving a conservative estimate of how much a smoker will spend over the next 5 years. It is very likely that within 5 years, the cost of smoking will be even higher than this!

1 Day 1 Week 1 Month

1 Year 3 years 5 years

Cigarettes per day

5 £1.25 £8.75 £37.50 £450 £1,440 £2,562

10 £2.50 £17.50 £75 £900 £2,879 £5,124

20 £5.00 £35 £150 £1,800 £5,759 £10,249

40 £10.00 £70 £300 £3,600 £11,517 £20,497

60 £15.00 £105 £450 £5,400 £17,276 £30,746

Smokers also tend to spend more on –

Dental care: because smoking has such a huge impact on teeth Beauty products: because smoking is very damaging to the skin Perfume & aftershave: in an attempt to disguise the smell! Life Insurance: because smokers have a 50% chance of dying early House Insurance: because smokers are more likely to cause fires

WHY WOULD ANYONE SPEND THIS MUCH ON CIGARETTES!?

Nicotine is one of the most addictive of all drugs, recognized to have as much of an impact on the brain as illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Very few people intend to become a 20, 40 or 60-a-day smoker – but this addiction takes hold, and people find it very hard to quit. 74% of smokers say that they want to quit, with health being the number one reason for wanting to quit, followed by the financial cost (ASH, 2009).

If you or someone you know want to quit smoking then contact Quitline on 233170, or quitline@hssd.gov.gg. Quitline can offer free advice and NRT. You can also contact GASP for help by adding Gasp Guernsey as a friend on facebook.