How the fuck do people afford to smoke?

[StrongerThanIThought76]

Let me start by saying I've never smoked. Never even tried it. My mum did, from her teens, all through my childhood, through some serious health issues and finally stopped after a smoking related cancer. Of course there are a hundred reasons not to smoke these days - health, social exclusion etc etc.

I worked out that over 50 years she's spent almost £150k on fags, conservatively basing that on 20 a day.

She's never had any savings, only been on a few holidays and still harbours resentment that my dad has a much wealthier lifestyle (bigger house, better car etc since they divorced 30 years ago).

So with the cost of a packet of 'premium' fags costing in excess of £10 a pack AIBU to think that smokers have got their priorities massively wrong money-wise?

And who the hell buys Starbucks twice a day? That's just stupid. As is smoking. It's not "spending your money differently " , it's being enslaved by a habit that will kill you. I know about being addicted. I know it's a hellish habit to break but you have to break it.

I smoke am poor and have mental health issues. I'm also an alcoholic and seeking treatment. I would rather go without alcohol or proper food for a week than go without cigarettes.

The thought of stopping smoking fills me with terror because of the impact withdrawal will have on my mental health. I also refuse to go to hospital these days when I'm ill because they have stopped smoking on the grounds of psychiatric wards.

I'm going to AA and most of us congregate outside of the meetings to have a smoke or to vape. These are people that have been through rehab for hard drugs and alcohol and go to meetings most nights to keep them sober but just can't face giving up the fags or vape just yet.

I'm hoping to move onto a vape because it's cheaper and healthier but that will be really hard for me. Even so Mumsnetters will still bitch about that.

Incidentally you can still smoke in prisons because it was ruled at contravening their human rights to stop them. What they really mean is they would have had riots and it would have become unmanageable.

Increasing the prices just takes money out of peoples pockets.

@Titianias

Hopefully putting the price up will help stopping younger people starting the lifetime habit. Particularly poignant after what lucisky said.

It's not having that effect in the very deprived area I live in. Most of the young people I know smoke, just not as heavily as me.

As I've already said I've never smoked. I rarely drink as I don't like the sensation of being tipsy or drunk. I did drink as a student though, I guess it was part of the scene.

I don't drink coffee either so I don't spend money every day on Starbucks etc. My household income is fairly low but I have enough left over each month to save for a cheapo European holiday every couple of years.

£300 a month on cigarettes would mean that we would have to make huge changes to our essential outgoings. We have been on the breadline in the last few years, and £300 would have meant a choice between smoking and eating/heating/electric/gas/paying rent.

If £300 a month is within your disposable budget, great. If you can afford to splash out on fags once your regular bills are paid, great.

Yes we could all do the complicated maths and add up how much cigs have cost over the last 50 years but the point I was making in the op was this - At TODAY'S cost of say £10 a pack, 20 a day over 50 years of smoking, that's £182500 up in literal smoke. That's not much less than the CURRENT average house price in the UK, and way more than my house is currently worth. Even in the depths of addiction how can smokers deny this financial sacrifice?

Stronger, it sounds like you've never been addicted to a substance before so I can imagine it's difficult to imagine.

How do people afford anything? How do drinkers afford alcohol? How do obese people without medical conditions afford all that food? How do drug addicts afford substances? When I was an addict I just found the money, sacrificed food or whatever for drugs. People just find the money.

I think you know this though unless you're a bit stupid so I feel like you're just being goady.

You could do that with every unnecessary expense though. Add it all up and be amazed that over 50 years it comes to a huge amount. Chocolate, booze, newspapers, meals out, clothes, haircuts etc. Those things give people pleasure and make life a bit nicer. It's the same with me and cigs. Life is hard and for 2 minutes a few times a day I get a little moment of relaxation that gives me the fortitude to plow through for another few hours.

This may help you understand addiction better as you have never been an addict OP.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park

Also this:

Sources estimate that 25 and 75 percent of people who survive abuse and/or violent trauma develop issues related to alcohol abuse.
Accidents, illness or natural disasters translate to between 10 to 33 percent of survivors reporting alcohol abuse.
A diagnosis of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) increases the risk of developing alcohol abuse.
Female trauma survivors who do not struggle with PTSD face increased risk for an alcohol use disorder.
Male and female sexual abuse survivors experience a higher rate of alcohol and drug use disorders compared to those who have not survived such abuse.

Remember as I said that cigarettes are harder to give up for addicts and also cigarettes don't cause the changes in behaviour that affect those you love. Much like over eating in women.

The wiki link is about rat heaven, rats addicted to opiates were put in an amazing rat park and gave up the opiates by themselves.

My DF smoked heavily until fairly recently. He still goes to the pub several times a week which must conservatively cost £50/week. They live as a family of four in a rented two bed.

My DM didn’t smoke and had maybe a bottle of wine a week at home. She had a lot of equity when she died.

Priorities. Smoking and drinking in pubs are expensive hobbies.

I hate the smell
Bought a few items off eBay and returned them for that very reason. Having to kiss relatives who just reek of fags is awful. Their clothes stink, their homes stink, their car stinks, yellow fingers, yellow teeth...

Geez, a truly disgusting habit.
Each to their own of course, but I tend to stand well clear of smokers. Makes me cough and cough just breathing in the passive smoke.

Cool. So I'm lucky that none of the traumas that have happened to me in my life have led me into addiction? Sexual/emotional/financial/domestic abuse not severe enough to lead to me relying on smoking/drinking/drugs to 'get me through'?

My childhood was impacted by smoking addiction. My exh was a functioning alcoholic. The last few years have been overshadowed/consumed by dealing with smoking related illnesses with lifechanging consequences.

I AM lucky not to have an addictive personality.

Am i lucky to be able to work out that I choose to provide the basics for my family rather than a few minutes of freedom and relaxation 20 times a day?

I know loads of people who have 2 Starbucks (or similar) a day

Most people who smoke provide the basics for their children though don’t they? Don’t let the minority override your point

StrongerThanIThought76

You're assuming that every smoker doesn't provide for their families. I am a single parent, I provide everything for my son - he goes without nothing. Very, very insulting to insinuate that smokers are negligent parents!

Oh and my ex who doesn't smoke and works full time (cash in hand) provides not one penny of support and buys nothing for our son. But that's ok because at least he doesn't smoke?

My Mum and Dad smoked 50 a day each up to me being around 19.
Despite both having good jobs we were always skint. Toys came from factory seconds places which never quite worked or where half fixed by my Dad.

I honestly thought cigarettes were about £7 a pack. I thought that was ridiculous.

I met someone over christmas that smokes, Dunhill, I think they were.

I was amazed that they are £11 a pack. £11!

I never went without. I still had to watch my Mum die of lung cancer.

I'm not saying that all who have been through trauma or mental health issues have addiction problems, neither are the studies but there is a really strong link.

And yes as an addict I do feel I'm being very selfish which is a reason I'm trying to work on myself. I have never neglected my children though, but could have spent my money in much better ways.

I think your last post is just silly really. I was in two consecutive abusive relationships both emotionally, physically and sexually. I did fall into addiction. I know it was my choice to take the drugs, I just wanted anything to be out of reality. But I'm pretty confident I wouldn't have had an addiction if those things hadn't have happened. I didn't have a child at the time. I stopped when I found out one of the times I was raped led to me becoming pregnant and it saved my life.

Having been an addict doesn't make me weaker than you. And parents smoking doesn't mean they don't provide basics for their children but I think you know that. As a PP said I know plenty of RPs who smoke and single handedly provide everything for their child. I know plenty of NRPs who don't smoke but also don't provide a single penny for their kids.

Excellent post red. Hope that those calling smokers weak poor and uneducated can read it and be a bit more humble

@TitaniasCloset I worked in mental health for years and spent a few years working within the alcohol and drug addiction field I would say 9/10 patients were smokers if not more if your giving up something that hard than I think asking people to quit smoking to is a bit much and personally I never really agreed with stopping smoking on mental health wards particularly as ironically a huge amount of staff were smokers it seemed hypocritical.