More than seven billion Australian dollars up in smoke each year

Friday June 19, 2009

Research highlights massive financial cost of smoking

With financial stress taking its toll on the economy and the lives of millions of Australians, smoking cessation experts have issued a clear message to smokers, their families and friends, saying that the average smoker is wasting more than $2,500,^1,2 every year through the purchase of cigarettes.

With an average consumption of 14 cigarettes per day,³ new research has found that 2.9 million⁴ Australian smokers collectively are spending approximately $7.41 billion^5,6,7 on purchasing cigarettes, putting themselves at risk of a variety of health problems including stroke, heart attack, lung and eye problems as well as various cancers.⁸

Smoking cessation expert Dr Allan White says that if Australians really want to increase their odds of making it through an economic downturn, quitting smoking would be an excellent first step.

"The reality is that every cigarette purchased is money that goes up in smoke. Smoking causes serious damage to your body, as well as also causing damage to the contents of your wallet," says Dr White.

"It is important to remember however that due to the highly addictive nature of nicotine, quitting is a serious challenge to many smokers, so for advice on what options are available to help quit, Australian smokers should visit a GP today to talk about available strategies."

While the nation begins to tighten its belt, the research has found that during times of financial stress, Australians are most likely to cut back their spending on entertainment and eating out (61 per cent)⁹ or clothing and accessories (59 per cent)¹⁰ before choosing to cut back on smoking (47 per cent)¹¹.

In a state by state comparison, QLD had the lowest average rate of smokers (14 per cent)¹² and the highest level of consumption per smoker with 15.4 cigarettes per day.¹³ WA had the lowest likelihood of cutting back with just 38 per cent¹⁴ saying that they would cut back during times of financial stress.

Similarly, South Australians proved to have the highest average rate of smokers with one in four (25 per cent)¹⁵ saying that they were smokers, but an encouraging 61 per cent¹⁶ noting that they would consider cutting back during tough economic times.

In addition to the huge amount of money spent on smoking each year, the research also found that Australian smokers are individually wasting approximately 17 days each^17,18 or as a nation 49.3 million¹⁹ days per year on smoking cigarettes.

"Time expenditure is a great example of how smoking affects the quality of life of more than just the smoker," says Dr White. Seventeen days or 408 hours per person smoking every year is time that could be spent with family and friends – something that can be hard to come by given many peoples' fast paced lifestyles."

"Quitting smoking is no easy feat, so it is crucial that Australians who are serious about quitting develop a support network of people and resources, to give themselves the best chance for success," says Dr White.

"Support networks can be made up of family, friends, employers or colleagues as well as your GP, pharmacist and additional resources – it is vital that smokers recognise that networks exist to help them through the challenge and will be there to support throughout."

One resource available to smokers is the www.outsmartcigarettes.com.au website, which gives smokers an opportunity to personally calculate the amount of money and time they spend each year and over their lifetime on smoking.

"With commitment to quitting, as well as a clear path to success, Australian smokers who want to quit will soon be richer in time, wealth and health for years to come," says Dr White.