Guest Columnist

 

Diana Polk

Smoking Costs the Average California Smoker $4,927,317 Over a Lifetime

 

With the economic costs of smoking totaling more than $600 billion per year, the personal-finance company WalletHub today released its report on The Real Cost of Smoking by State, to help encourage the estimated 49.2 million tobacco users in the U.S. to kick this dangerous habit.

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

The Financial Cost of Smoking in California (1=Highest, 25=Avg.):

  • Overall rank for California: 12th
  • Out-of-Pocket Cost per Smoker – $205,159 (Rank: 14th)
  • Financial-Opportunity Cost per Smoker – $3,593,737 (Rank: 14th)
  • Health-Care Cost per Smoker – $275,120 (Rank: 12th)
  • Income Loss per Smoker – $832,326 (Rank: 6th)
  • Other Costs per Smoker – $20,975 (Rank: 46th)
  • Total Cost Over Lifetime per Smoker: $4,927,317
  • Total Cost per Year per Smoker: $102,652