NC least costly state for smokers — but lifelong habit comes with big bill, study says
North Carolina is the least expensive state for smoking — but costs can still set you back big time, a new study finds.
Tobacco smokers in the Tar Heel State on average lose out on $24,088 a year for their habits, according to findings from the personal finance website WalletHub. Over a lifetime, the bill can top $1.2 million, results show.
Those totals were calculated in a state where the median household income is $52,413, according to 2019 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Nationwide, North Carolina has the lowest annual and lifelong costs for smokers, according to the WalletHub report released Wednesday.
So how did the state earn that ranking?
North Carolina’s average cigarette prices are among the least expensive in the country, WalletHub says, with out-of-pocket costs estimated at $1,730 per year.
And the state had one of the lowest returns a “person would have earned by instead investing that money in the stock market over the same period,” the report shows.
WalletHub says its list also weighed the financial tolls related to medical care, income, air quality and homeowner’s insurance in its study, which is meant to discourage people from tobacco use.
In all, New York was the most costly state in the country for smokers. Tobacco users there potentially lose out on $48,197 each year and about $2.4 million throughout life.
Across the United States, the habit costs more than $300 billion each year in health care and productivity loss, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate.
This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 10:58 AM with the headline "NC least costly state for smokers — but lifelong habit comes with big bill, study says."
