Personal finance website WalletHub last week released its report on "The Real Cost of Smoking by State" and they estimated that South Carolina smokers spend over $1,775,882 over their lifetime. This is an increase of $525,995 from last year's study.
To encourage the estimated 34.2 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 cigarette pack 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 South Carolina (1=Lowest, 25=Avg.):
- Out-of-Pocket Cost per Smoker – $94,958 (Rank: 7th)
- Financial-Opportunity Cost per Smoker – $1,058,666 (Rank: 7th)
- Health-Care Cost per Smoker – $124,602 (Rank: 10th)
- Income Loss per Smoker – $485,801 (Rank: 10th)
- Other Costs per Smoker – $11,855 (Rank: 26th)
- Total Cost Over Lifetime per Smoker: $1,775,882
- Total Cost per Year per Smoker: $36,998
To see the full report, click here.
