5 Minute Coffee Break - Count The Real Cost of Smoking ££££££££

What is on the top of your shopping list this week? Is tobacco or cigarettes a daily staple, along with bread, milk, and vegetables or are you choosing to smoke over choosing food?  Is heating your home coming a vulnerable second to smoking? In your household the cost of tobacco addiction may be putting a real strain on you and a drain on your financial resources as the increased cost of everyday living takes its toll. It may have been on your mind to try and stop smoking for a while now. This could be one more reason to start your quit attempt today that will keep you motivated throughout your quit attempt

If the average cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes is £10 and you smoke an average of 15 per day you will save £7.50 per day or £52.50 per week and over £200 per month!  Try the calculator on the Yorkshire Smoke Free website. You might be surprised how much smoking is costing you! Have you been tempted to swap to “under the counter”, illegal cigarettes to save money? These do not comply with any legislation and may contain dangerous additives and higher dosages of lethal substances such as lead, tar, cadmium and carbon monoxide and even unsanitary products such as sawdust and rat droppings. They sometimes have an unusual taste or smell. Illicit tobacco is behind many of our communities’ wider problems and has links to organised crime, human trafficking, modern slavery, selling to underage smokers, money laundering and even terrorist organisations. The most vulnerable are often affected including children. Take a moment to think about the real cost of counterfeit tobacco and you will understand they are not “cheap” after all!

Start your quit attempt today by calculating how much smoking has been costing you. By facing up to and confronting how much we are spending on tobacco we can imagine what that money looks like in real terms and what it could be used for instead of smoking. Write down your goals and what you might like or need to spend the money on that you have saved by not smoking, such as more delicious, healthy food for your family, more money towards every day household bills, or even a treat for yourself as a reward for stopping smoking and staying smoke free. Even your pets can benefit as you can treat them to a new toy or save for that next vet bill that is coming up

Count the real cost of smoking today to your health, your family, and your pocket!