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The real cost of tobacco

As mid-January tests New Year’s resolutions, many may be weakening in their resolve. Certainly that must include some who vowed this is the year to give up smoking. To add a little incentive to the effort, WalletHub took a look at the true cost of tobacco use. The dollar amounts are eye-opening for the 46 million people in the U.S. who still use tobacco.

Total lifetime cost per smoker in Ohio was estimated to be $3,538,844.

Think about that for a moment — particularly given that those who live in rural areas and have lower incomes are statistically more likely to be smokers.

For the Buckeye State, the out-of-pocket cost over a lifetime is $154,877, the financial opportunity cost is $2,625,464, the health care cost per smoker is $169,669, income loss per smoker is $578,794, and other costs per smoker amount to $10,040.

To determine financial opportunity cost, WalletHub calculated the return on investment if the out-of-pocket cost had instead been invested in the stock market over the same period. Other costs included loss of insurance credits and cost for victims of second-hand smoke exposure.

It is a no brainer that increasing the taxes on tobacco products will lower the number of products sold and consumed.

Yet lawmakers so willing to tackle many other things THEY deem harmful are still timid when it comes to facing big tobacco or supporting prevention campaigns and cessation programs.

That isn’t just costing us money. It’s killing us.

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