Smoking combustible cigarettes can be an incredibly dangerous habit. Not only does it increase your risk of cancer and impair your immune system, but it also tends to eat away at your savings. Especially if you smoke frequently, you can end up spending thousands of pounds each year on combustible cigarettes. People who are looking to find an easy way to save money may want to quit smoking. Transitioning to vapes is a convenient and cost-effective way to quit spending so much money on combustible cigarettes.
The Average Cost of Smoking Combustible Cigarettes
To understand why switching to vapes is such a smart financial move, it’s helpful to learn how much smoking really costs. When you grab a random pack of combustible cigarettes, it might not seem insanely expensive. The average pack is around £13 to £14 depending on where you buy them. However, these costs quickly add up.
While many people might just have a combustible cigarette or two on a night out, others smoke several per day. A typical smoker uses around 10 combustible cigarettes per day. Assuming they buy averagely-priced combustible cigarettes, the daily costs of smoking cigarettes in the UK for habitual users are £7. If you’re the type of person who uses around a pack of combustible cigarettes a day, costs can be £14 per day or higher.
All of this smoking can lead to very high expenses. The average annual cost of smoking cigarettes in the UK is £2,555 per year. A person who starts smoking at the age of 18 and lives to be 70 could easily end up spending between £132,860 and £265,720 on combustible cigarettes. The amount of money you spend on combustible cigarettes could pay for several cars or even a small house.
Average Costs for Vaping Tobacco
Meanwhile, the costs associated with vaping tend to be quite a bit lower. Costs vary more because there are so many products and types of vaping juice to choose from. Though there are less precisely defined numbers, the average vape device is very affordable. Typical vapers spend around £15 to £45 for their vaping device. Then they just need to spend around £37 per month to get new tobacco liquid and the occasional replacement part.
Ultimately, the big cost savings for vape devices come from their reusability. Instead of buying and throwing away a lot of plastic and paper, you just keep the same device and add more juice as needed. Since vaping liquid is very simple to produce, ongoing costs are low. On average, vapers spend £440 per year.
Savings Are Likely to Increase Over Time
Keep in mind that potential cost savings for vaping are likely to rise. Many government policies focus on reducing smoking work by making it excessively costly to smoke. Through increased taxes, they hope to discourage smoking and offset some of the additional cost of taking care of tobacco smokers.
To achieve this goal, the government has enacted a series of ongoing tax spikes. In early 2023, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a recent 10.1% increase in combustible cigarette taxes. This raised the overall tax rate for combustible cigarettes to 16.5%. For example, purchasing a 20-pack will cost over £14.
With more taxes to come in the future, the costs of smoking will only go up. Other Commonwealth nations that have started similar price-increase programs have already started to raise combustible cigarette costs even higher. If the United Kingdom follows the lead of nations like New Zealand, a 20-pack could end up costing around £30.
Protect Your Wallet and Your Health By Switching to Vaping
Ultimately, quitting smoking and turning to vaping can be a very effective way of saving money. The typical smoker can save £2,115 simply by turning from combustible cigarettes to electronic vaping devices. This lets you reduce your expenses while still getting the same amount of nicotine overall. Without any noticeable difficulties or significant changes to your life, you can have a lot of extra money for living expenses, vacations, major purchases, and more.
Don’t forget that vaping saves you money in a lot of other ways as well. In addition to being cheaper to buy upfront, vaping also has some helpful lifestyle perks that save you money. Vape devices release water vapour that is easy to clean and almost odourless, while combustible cigarettes release oily, smelly smoke. If you vape, you don’t have to spend money replacing belongings or paying a landlord for damage to their flat.
Vaping also has far less toxic byproducts than tobacco. Though you’re still inhaling vapour, you aren’t also inhaling over 7,000 problematic combustion byproducts. This helps to reduce some of the big health problems associated with combustible cigarettes. You’re eight times less likely to get cancer if you use an electronic vape instead of a combustible cigarette. This means that you feel better, have more energy from work, and are less likely to deal with the financial consequences of a major health problem.
Another secondary benefit of switching to vapes is that they can make it easier to quit smoking altogether. Though you already save quite a bit of money with just a vape device, you can save even more by skipping tobacco products altogether. If you’re interested in quitting tobacco, figuring out how vapes help you quit smoking is simple. Since they let you customize your nicotine usage, it’s easy to slowly taper down usage over time. You can switch to a milder vaping liquid, so you reduce cravings while gradually cutting back. There are so many options available in terms of vape products to help you quit smoking!
Overall, vaping is an excellent way for traditional smokers to start saving money. Making the switch can immediately save you thousands of pounds a year. Furthermore, you also get incidental savings from things like improved health and an odour-free environment. This simple change can greatly benefit your budget and your lifestyle. Use our store locator to find a vape store near you!
Sources
https://tobaccoreporter.com/2023/03/16/u-k-tobacco-duty-increased/
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czmp
https://everyonehealth.co.uk/what-is-the-cost-smoking/