High price of puffing: The financial toll of smoking on Pennsylvanians

Smoking isn’t cheap for Pennsylvanians, as a recent report found the average smoker in the state spends thousands annually on cigarettes. 

Lighting up is burning more than just tobacco. It’s torching Pennsylvanians’ wallets too.

A new report from financial planning website WalletHub shows a smoker in the Keystone State spends an average of $4,022 per year, or $193,070 over their lifetime, on smoking. Pennsylvania ranks 15th in the nation for the overall financial cost of smoking both annually and over the course of a lifetime.

In the report, The Real Cost of Smoking by State, WalletHub took the average cost of a pack of cigarettes in each state and multiplied that figure by 365 days for a yearly cost. In Pennsylvania, the average cost for a pack of cigarettes is $11.02. WalletHub multiplied the annual figure by the total number of days in 48 years for a lifetime amount.

The personal finance company also calculated the costs, and monetary losses, brought on by smoking, including healthcare expenditures, income losses, and other costs.

Direct medical costs to treat smoking-related health complications are one of the biggest financial drains caused by tobacco use, according to the report. Pennsylvania smokers pay a yearly average of $3,989 in healthcare costs, or $191,452 over a lifetime, because of their smoking habit. 

The report also says that studies have shown that smoking can lead to loss of income, either because of absenteeism, workplace bias, or lower productivity due to smoking-related health problems. Pennsylvania smokers suffer an average income loss of $13,171 a year, or $632,189 in a lifetime due to their nicotine habit.

To calculate income loss, WalletHub decreased the median household income for each state by 18%, basing the decrease off a recent survey that found smokers earn 18.1% less than nonsmokers.