# How much does a 2 pack a day smoking habit cost a person? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-2-pack-a-day-smoking-habit-cost-a-person/288943 "2005-02-08T04:04:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Time\_Like\_Tears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@Time\_Like\_Tears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Like_Tears)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-2-pack-a-day-smoking-habit-cost-a-person/288943/21 "2005-02-08T20:57:32Z")
Hmm, I pay $2.85 including tax per pack of Marlboro Lights 100’s here. $5.70 a day, if I smoked 2 packs a day, making it $2080.50 per year, provided the price stays the same. Of course, it really does depend on where you buy, because across the street from the convenience store I buy from, they’re $3.99 a pack. I really only smoke one pack per day, so my yearly outlay would be closer to $1040. Gah. I could have a whole new wardrobe for that. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-2-pack-a-day-smoking-habit-cost-a-person/288943/22 "2005-02-08T21:25:01Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > The cheapest cigarettes around here are Westports, which can be bought at finer gas stations everywhere for $11.95 / carton + 7% sales tax = $12.79 / carton. 2 packs a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year = 729 packs / 20 packs per carton = 36.4 so 37 cartons a year = **$473.23**. So if you can stomach (lung?) the things, not too bad. However, full price cigarettes run closer to $30 - 40 a carton, leading to a high end of **$1480** a year. Are you quite certain your math is correct? I would have sworn that cartons were only 10 packs, not 20. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-2-pack-a-day-smoking-habit-cost-a-person/288943/23 "2005-02-08T21:40:09Z")
In Atlantic Canada, it’s currently around $10.25 a pack, so $20.50 a day, $143.50 a week, $574.00 a month (more than my rent), $6888.00 a year. I’m a former smoker, but never smoked more than two packs a week. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-2-pack-a-day-smoking-habit-cost-a-person/288943/24 "2005-02-09T01:12:13Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > In Chicago cigarettes are now $7 a pack. After that the math is easy. 14 \* 365 = $5,110 / year. > > Of course, we are neglecting any costs such as health issues or repairing the whoel you burnt in your car door and such things but that is probabky out of the scope of this question. > > **IIRC people who are trying to quit smoking can download a little program that will track the money you saved since the day you quit. This is supposed to help people quit partly by seeing the money saved and partly by using that saved money as a carrot. I.e. After 6 months take $2500 (or whatever) and do someting really nice for yourself.** ## You can download that program [here](http://www.mwilden.com/QuitTime/) - it’s called QuitTime. 1w 1d 12:16 smoke-free, 294 cigs not smoked, $117.60 saved, 1d 0:30 life saved ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-2-pack-a-day-smoking-habit-cost-a-person/288943/25 "2005-02-09T01:15:39Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > And yes, I remember saying - out loud, no less - that I would quit if they ever got to a dollar a pack. Just curious, when was that and how much is that in today’s dollars? Also, how does that compare with your salary? By that, let’s say when cigs were $1/pack you were making, say, $5/hr. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-2-pack-a-day-smoking-habit-cost-a-person/288943/26 "2005-02-09T02:37:23Z")
Well, in the late 80’s I remember my parents talking about how they used to say that, and Mom didn’t start smoking till the late 70’s, so I’d guess late 70’s-early 80’s. I don’t know what they were making at the time, but minimum wage was something like $2.65. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-2-pack-a-day-smoking-habit-cost-a-person/288943.md?page=1)