With the societal and economic 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.
To encourage the estimated 36.5 million tobacco users in the U.S. to kick the dangerous habit, WalletHub’s analysts 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 | States with the Highest Smoking Costs | ||||
| 1 | Kentucky | 42 | California | ||
| 2 | North Carolina | 43 | District of Columbia | ||
| 3 | Georgia | 44 | Minnesota | ||
| 4 | Mississippi | 45 | Vermont | ||
| 5 | Tennessee | 46 | Hawaii | ||
| 6 | Alabama | 47 | Alaska | ||
| 7 | North Dakota | 48 | Rhode Island | ||
| 8 | South Carolina | 49 | Connecticut | ||
| 9 | Missouri | 50 | Massachusetts | ||
| 10 | Idaho | 51 | New York | ||
Key Stats
- Estimated financial cost of smoking over a lifetime per smoker: just above $1,5 million.
- The out-of-pocket cost per smoker is $120,111 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay the highest costs, $194,341, which is 2.3 times higher than in North Dakota, where smokers will pay the lowest costs at $84,140.
- The financial-opportunity cost per smoker is $1,011,762 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay the highest costs, $1,637,046, which is 2.3 times higher than in North Dakota, where smokers will pay the lowest costs at $708,759.
- Each smoker will incur an average of $222,915 in income loss over a lifetime. Smokers in Maryland will lose the highest amount, $304,168, which is 1.9 times higher than in Mississippi, where smokers will lose the lowest amount at $161,833.
- Each smoker will incur an average of $169,910 in smoking-related health-care costs over a lifetime. Smokers in Massachusetts will pay the highest amount, $280,080, which is 2.5 times higher than in Arkansas, where smokers will pay the lowest amount at $110,583.
Source: WalletHub
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