Using tobacco impacts more than your wallet, and quitting brings benefits you wouldn’t expect.
Costs of smoking
- One pack per day =
- $2,200+ per year (U.S. average)
- $84,000+ after 20 years (adjusted for inflation)
- Insurance = Additional $245+ per year*
- Medical care = Nearly $5,000 per year
- Your body = Damage to almost every organ
- 25 times higher risk for lung cancer
- Up to 4 times higher risk of heart disease and stroke
- Up to 40% higher risk of diabetes
- Reduces fertility
- Increases risk of miscarriage, birth defects and premature birth
- Life expectancy 10 years less than non-smokers
Benefits of quitting
- One pack per day = Saving $2,200+ per year
- Lower insurance costs
- Lower blood pressure and heart rate
- Normal sense of taste and smell
- Better breathing
- Within 2 – 5 years: Stroke risk reduced to that of a non-smoker
- Within 5 years: Risk of certain cancers (mouth, throat, esophagus) drops 50%
- After 10 years: Death from lung cancer risk drops 50%
- After 15 years: Risk of heart disease is same as a non-smoker
- 90% less likely to die from smoking-related disease if you quit before age 40
*Based on BCBS PPO Plan associate-only payroll deduction.
sources: cancer.org, cdc.gov, smokefree.gov
