THE COST OF SMOKING CIGARETTES
According to information on-line, the cost of cigarettes increased an average of 4.1% a year from 2000 through 2017, and the average cost was $6.16 a pack in 2017.
So, suppose you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. Using the average cost per pack of $6.16, the total cost per year would be $2,248. If you cut your smoking to half a pack a day, you would save about $1,124 a year.
To calculate how much the $1,124 in savings, invested at a very modest 2% a year, would be worth in 10 years you would do the following with the following with the Choosing Wealth™ Calculator:
1. Enter 1,124, your first annual investment amount, then select | ![]() |
2. Enter 4.1, the increase in cigarette cost, then select | ![]() |
3. Enter 10, the number of years in your investment plan, then select | ![]() |
4. Enter 2, the annual rate of return you assume, then select | ![]() |
5. Select | ![]() |
The value displayed, $14,748, is the projected value of 10 years of cigarette savings based on the specified assumptions.

We’re not telling you what your lifestyle should be, but $1,124 the first year, increased by 4.1% per year for 10 years, earning 2% each year equals $14,748 in wealth accumulation.
The “Non-Smoker Wealth” chart shows the potential wealth from investing this savings at different rates and for different years.
NON-SMOKER WEALTH
Years | Assumed Investment Returns | ||
2% | 4% | 6% | |
10 | $14,748 | $16,067 | $17,529 |
20 | $40,020 | $47,797 | $57,590 |
30 | $81,726 | $106,640 | $142,288 |
And that’s not even counting how much more costly health insurance premiums can be for smokers. A final Department of Health and Human Services rule found here allows for rates to be as high as 50% above those of non-smokers. An insurance website suggests smokers will pay on average 15-20% higher health insurance premiums. That means if the monthly premium was $350 for a non-smoker, it could be $420 a month for a smoker, a difference if $70 a month or $840 a year. Assuming health insurance costs increase 5% a year, the “Non-Smoker Insurance Wealth” chart below shows how much the savings could be worth at different rates over different years.
NON-SMOKER INSURANCE WEALTH
Years | Assumed Investment Returns | ||
2% | 4% | 6% | |
10 | $11,477 | $12,487 | $13,604 |
20 | $32,686 | $38,823 | $46,522 |
30 | $70,296 | $90,598 | $119,410 |
THE LIFESTYLE COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS
Between the cost of cigarettes and higher health insurance premiums (and/or life insurance costs; and surely higher medical costs), how much of a personally and financially healthy and wealthy future lifestyle are you sacrificing?
Using this illustration, doesn’t taking 30 years of assumed investment returns at a modest 4% and having almost $200,000 sound better?