Save yourself a packet by quitting smoking

The Government are keener than ever to stop us becoming a nation of smokers. Not only is there a smoking ban in most public places throughout the UK, but the price of an average pack of cigarettes has slowly risen to discourage people from continuing their habit any further.

According to research an average smoker will spend about £800 on cigarettes each year. Smokers will pay extra for their health insurance as well. They also come across other difficulties as a consequence of their habit, for example a smoker is less likely to sell their car than a non-smoker, simply because people do not want to buy a car that smells of cigarettes. Similarly, this is the effect on house sales. Smokers will continue to have larger dentistry bills – the list goes on and on.

It costs the NHS a lot of money annually, too. Apparently there are around 92,000 smoking related deaths each year in the UK. It costs the NHS a great deal of money to treat these people and provide them with the equipment they need to prolong their lives as long as possible.

Controversially a critic has suggested that the NHS would save no money if people stopped smoking, because if people stopped smoking they would (on average) live longer. This in turn would mean more elderly people requiring nursing homes and elderly care. The cost of treating people from smoking would simply be transferred to looking after more elderly people.

But it is a healthier nation the Government want and many quit smoking campaigns back nicotine replacement treatments such as nicotine gum, mints, patches, and electronic cigarettes. An electronic cigarette or e cigarette is an inhaler which looks like a normal cigarette, giving the smoker a hit of nicotine, but without the other thousands of chemicals thrown in. It is also a cost effective way of cutting your habit – and with the recent economic crisis affecting many, every penny helps.