The True Cost of Smoking by State

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WalletHub’s analysts calculated the potential monetary losses — including the cumulative cost of a cigarette pack per day over several decades, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs — brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.

WalletHub estimated the financial cost of smoking in the U.S. to be roughly $1.6 million per smoker over a lifetime.

States with the Lowest Smoking Costs States with the Highest Smoking Costs
1 Louisiana 42 District of Columbia
2 Kentucky 43 New Jersey
3 Missouri 44 Washington
4 West Virginia 45 Minnesota
5 North Carolina 46 Rhode Island
6 Georgia 47 Connecticut
7 Tennessee 48 Hawaii
8 South Carolina 49 Alaska
9 Mississippi 50 Massachusetts
10 Alabama 51 New York

Key Findings

  • The out-of-pocket cost per smoker is $115,214 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay two times more than smokers in Missouri.
  • The financial opportunity cost per smoker is $1,089,471 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay two times more than smokers in Missouri.
  • Each smoker will incur an average of $220,855 in income loss over a lifetime. Smokers in Mississippi will lose the least, $161,013, which is 2 times less than in Maryland, the state that will lose the most.
  • Each smoker will incur an average of $164,876 in smoking-related health-care costs over a lifetime. Smokers in Massachusetts will pay two times more than smokers in Kentucky.

 

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