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There are always good reasons to stop smoking, but the economic conditions make this year the ideal time to stub it out, says Laura Howard
Even though wasting money is officially out of fashion, millions of smokers continue to set light to thousands of pounds of their cash every year. However, with the recession biting hard, an estimated 1.2 million people are expected to attempt to kick the habit today, which is No Smoking Day. And the benefits have never been clearer.
Notwithstanding the major and well-documented health implications of smoking, including increased risk of heart disease, cancer and circulatory problems, the journey towards this grizzly end is now more expensive than ever. With a packet of 20 cigarettes now costing an average £5.80, a 20-a-day smoker will cough up a staggering £2,111 a year to fund their habit.
Unfortunately that is just the start of it. Years of smoking will cost you a lot more in pocket, health and quality of life than just the price of the tools you need to do it. Let's take a look at how much money you burn while smoking, and how much you could save by quitting.
If you quit aged 20
The cost: Assuming you started at the previous legal age of 16 (the age you can legally buy cigarettes increased to 18 in January 2007), even four years of smoking will mean your wallet has taken a pounding. During this time you would have spent £8,444 on cigarettes, using today's prices. This cash could have been half way to a 10% deposit on your first home, the average cost of which has now fallen to around £160,000, according to the Halifax.
What are the benefits? The good news is if you quit smoking at 20, while youth is on your side, your body is likely to fully recover. "Within a year your sense of taste and smell will have returned, your blood pressure will be back to normal and there will be no carbon monoxide or nicotine left in your body," says Dan Tickle, chief executive of the No Smoking Day charity.
If you quit aged 30
The cost: Many smokers decide to kick the habit when their prime party years are over, but a 14-year supply of cigarettes will have already set you back £29,554. If you still managed to buy your own home in this time, bear in mind that the relative value of this will be less too.
Dean Sanderson, managing director at Sanderson James estate agents, says: "You can wipe at least £3,000 from the price of an average home if the vendors are smokers, because the whole place will have to be redecorated and recarpeted. Smokers get used to the smell but it's a real turn-off for potential buyers, and in this tough market a clean fresh home is a crucial first step to selling."
Insuring your home will also cost more as a smoker, says Lucy Cooke at Halifax Home Insurance. "Insurance providers weigh up the likelihood of a customer making a claim and then price the policy appropriately – and for smokers the risk of fire is deemed to be greater."
What are the benefits? As well as the cost of an estimated 40 years of further smoking (an extra £84,400 in your pocket), quitting in your 30s will increase your chances of starting a family. Around 120,000 men a year suffer from smoking-related impotence, according to the No Smoking Day charity, but it only takes around three months from the day you stop smoking to return to maximum fertility levels.
If you quit aged 40
The cost: Hitting middle age can be tough at the best of times, but smokers tend to look older faster. That's why many opt for cosmetic help, says Lianne Rispoli, director at Hertfordshire-based beauty consultancy WhiteSmileUk.com. "By the time smokers reach the age of 35 to 40, their teeth are discoloured or even permanently stained yellow so whitening treatments are especially popular among this group," she says. This can cost up to £300.
As smokers' skin loses its elasticity quicker and becomes lined – "especially around the mouth area where you have been drawing on cigarettes," says Rispoli – non-surgical facelifts are also popular. "These tone the core muscles of the face right down to the nerve endings and cost £250 for a course of 10. Monthly maintenance treatments thereafter cost £35," she adds.
What are the benefits? As you get older, life and critical illness insurance becomes more expensive. But if you are a smoker this premium will be greater still, as the risk of contracting a disease and dying increases. "Premiums can be up to 50% cheaper for non-smokers," says Matt Morris at protection adviser Lifesearch.
But if you quit at 40 it is not too late to benefit. Providing you have been tobacco-free for at least 12 months, most insurers will classify you as a non-smoker and your life insurance premiums will plummet. With PruProtect, for example, 25-years' worth of life and serious illness cover taken out at 40 will cost £312.11 a month for a smoker and just £173.18 for a non smoker. That's a saving of nearly £134 a month.
If you quit aged 60
The cost: 44 years of a 20-a-day smoking habit would have already cost you £92,883. But if it's also time to trade in your car for a pensioner's bus pass you'll have to take a hit on this too, says Ian Crowder at the AA.
"A car that has been driven by a smoker tends to have a film on the inside of the windows as the smoke gets circulated by the heating system," he says. "It will also smell dreadful and invariably have burn marks on the seats and a stained ashtray. All this will wipe a good percentage off the car's value as even getting it professionally cleaned won't fully eliminate the evidence."
What are the benefits? Financially speaking, the retirement years are perhaps the only stage in life where smoking can actually pay. It is a dubious privilege, but if you are still smoking at 60 you will get a much better annuity rate. According to Just Retirement, the best standard rate for a non-smoking, 60-year-old healthy male on a £50,000 pension fund amounts to a gross annual income of £3,289 for life. But as their life expectancy is shorter, a smoker will qualify for an enhanced annuity rate of £3,781 a year. If you also have a smoking related-illness your income will be higher still at £3,857 a year. "Smokers should always declare these illnesses to the adviser in order to get the best rate," says head of technical services at Just Retirement, Nigel Barlow.
If you quit aged 70
The average life expectancy is 79, according to the Office for National Statistics, and medical experts says a smoker's life expectancy is 8.3 years less than average. Still, it's never too late to quit.
More information
No Smoking Day – the UK's leading health campaign for smokers who want to stop.
NHS Choices: Smokefree – information about the free NHS support available to help you quit smoking.
Moneyfacts.co.uk – get the latest annuity rates.
- Consumer affairs
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