Can I Save a Lot of Money by Quitting Smoking?

The short answer is yes, you can save a lot of money by quitting smoking. The retail price of cigarette cartons are not likely to plummet any time soon, and you'll always have to travel somewhere else to purchase them. By eliminating those single-minded cigarette runs to the gas station or grocery store, you should see some significant savings in gas as well. Quitting smoking may be one of the best ways to create extra cash flow to meet your other financial obligations, such as rent, groceries and utilities.

There are also a number of intangible savings to consider after quitting smoking. Where there's smoke, there's fire, and a non-smoker no longer needs to invest in matches or cigarette lighters. Because cigarettes are generally sold in grocery or convenience stores, a non-smoker may be far less tempted to purchase additional impulse items such as candy, snack foods or beverages along with a supply of cigarettes. Quitting smoking cuts down on the number of short but ultimately expensive visits to local discount stores.

Quitting smoking has also been proven to improve the general health of the new non-smoker. Non-smokers are less likely to require over-the-counter treatments for smoking-related conditions such as eye irritations, dry mouth, withdrawal headaches and nausea. Quitting smoking before developing serious smoking-related conditions such as asthma, emphysema or cancer can also lead to significant savings in prescription medications. Cancer-fighting treatments and medications are very expensive, and often physically and emotionally demanding on patients and their families. By quitting smoking before the onset of major complications, you can save a significant amount of money on advanced medical treatments for smoking-related diseases.

There is also the potential for smoking-related accidents to consider. Many household fires can be traced back to careless smoking habits, including falling asleep with a lit cigarette or failure to extinguish a cigarette completely before disposal. By quitting smoking, you can significantly reduce the chances of causing an expensive and devastating fire through carelessness or neglect. It only takes one forgetful moment with a lit cigarette to reduce everything you own to ashes.