Granite State middle of pack when it comes to smoking cost: report

Smoking costs us more than $600 billion per year, and the personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on The Real Cost of Smoking by State, as well as expert commentary, to help encourage the 46 million tobacco users in the U.S. to kick this dangerous and expensive habit.

WalletHub calculated the potential monetary losses brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, including the lifetime and annual costs of a pack of cigarettes per day, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs.

Key Stats

• The estimated lifetime cost of smoking is nearly $3.9 million per smoker.
• The average out-of-pocket cost per smoker is $169,171 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay the most, shelling out 1.9 times more than smokers in South Carolina, who pay the least.
• Each smoker will lose an average of $646,316 income over a lifetime. Smokers in the District of Columbia will lose the most income - 1.9 times more than in Mississippi, where smokers will lose the least income.
• Each smoker will incur an average of $194,349 in smoking-related health care costs over a lifetime. Smokers in Connecticut will pay the highest amount - 2.7 times more than in Tennessee, where smokers will pay the lowest amount.

Biggest Changes in Rank from Last Year (Rank 1 = Most Expensive)

• Wyoming went from rank 37 to 46.
• Texas went from rank 27 to 34.
• South Carolina went from rank 44 to 51.
• North Dakota went from rank 47 to 40.

To view the full report and your state or the District's rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/the-financial-cost-of-smoking-by-state/9520