This equates to around $7,000 for each smoker

The Florida Institute for Smoking Cessation which has recently been founded to reduce the amount of smoking in the state of Florida has issued a report showing that the costs of smoking to the state economy is in excess of $20 billion a year. This equates to around $7,000 for each smoker which in turn equates to an actual cost of $17.22 for each packet of cigarettes sold. This research clearly shows that the price on a pack of cigarettes is not the price that eventually has to be paid for smoking the cigarettes in it.

Financial analysts and economists are waking up to the fact that smoking costs countries a huge amount of money and that the money invested in the smoking cessation programs could produce lucrative returns in savings on health care and increases in productivity. The study examined how by using financial incentives to employees in the form of smoking cessation benefits the state of Florida could boost its productivity by $21 billion every year, gain a $7 billion increase in income from work every year and also create over 100,000 new jobs.

The other thing that the study observed was while health insurance would pay for a lung transplant they would not pay for smoking cessation treatment or counselling. It is much cheaper to pay somebody to quit smoking than it is to pay for treatment as a result of a smoking related illness. The attitude should be far more geared towards prevention rather than cure. The researchers reckon that for every dollar spent on getting people to participate in smoking cessation programs the savings would be in the region of $2 to $6.

It is estimated that around 70 percent of people who smoke say they want to quit the habit but they struggle with their nicotine addiction and they need help to stop. Only a few people manage to quit completely without help and the majority need some form of counselling or smoking cessation treatment such as Champix or a nicotine patch.

If you are a smoker and short of money the first thing you need to do is quit. In the UK you could save as much as £2,000 every year as well as increase your energy levels and your productivity at work which could in turn to lead to more financial benefits.