Question to smokers - the cost of your habit?

[forinborin]

Posting for traffic mainly (and, strangely, there does not seem to be a dedicated forum for unhealthy living and bad habits where to ask ).

I am helping someone new to the UK with budgeting / finance optimisation. They are a (quite heavy) smoker, and after we went through their April expenses / receipts, it looks like just the cost of cigarettes for the month was over £500. Bought from a usual corner shop, nothing fancy.

I have zero experience with smoking myself, soI was completely shocked at the cost. Is there a way to reduce this bill in any way? What do experienced smokers do, do they bulk buy? Are there any special suppliers to buy from? Do e-cigarettes turn out cheaper?

Sorry for the stupid question!

Only legal way to get it cheaper is to pop over to Europe for the day and buy duty free each month

Compared to £500 on cigarettes, would probably reduce that to £150 plus whatever their ticket cost; so could easily halve the spend if they have a day a month spare to travel

NHS can help with patches etc. if they ever feel ready to quit

Ecigs/vapes are massively cheaper but it's a bit of a learning curve.

If I was a 30 a day smoker newly arrived in the UK the first thing I would do is find a source of cheap hand rolling tobacco.

Yes from a war zone, but they have been smoking at that level that pretty much all their life. The difference that it costed pennies (literally) over there.

Are you having to pay for their fags?

Hmm, interesting, I do go on business trips to Europe monthly or so, so could definitely bring some back!

Well not "having to" - doing it voluntarily, but yes it is on me.

Yes my DH gave up smoking because we simply could not afford it, he wasnt a selfish bastard and see his DD without food on the table because of his habit. I obviously nagged him for years and he managed to cut down because of the health risks but the cost really was the final straw.

Yes my DH gave up smoking because we simply could not afford it, he wasnt a selfish bastard and see his DD without food on the table because of his habit. I obviously nagged him for years and he managed to cut down because of the health risks but the cost really was the final straw.
I absolutely had no idea about the cost. Had you asked me a month ago about the cost of a pack of cigarettes, I would have had no clue whether it is 50p or £5. The reality exceeded wildest expectations

I smoked 30 a day for years and tried giving up so many times. I had a bad fall about eight years ago and was on traction in hospital for eight weeks which resulted in me finally giving up. When I look at how much a pack costs now, I'm almost grateful for that fall. The ones I smoked now cost over £14 a pack!

Vaping is much,much cheaper. Some smokers vape part time to keep costs down. In the short term,chucking cigarettes in favour of vaping would cost a heavy smoker about a fifth of the cost of cigarettes. That includes the costs of the vaping equipment and fluids. In the long term vapers' intake generally decreases and they wind up with a £20- £30 a month habit including the costs of the vape kit. I've based this on costs of using a basic vape pen and standard liquids.

You don't have to buy cigarettes for a refugee you are housing and I wouldn't. I wouldn't want someone smoking in my house at all. I'd steer them towards a vape, as I could put up with that much more easily, and it is much cheaper.

Are you the person who posted a couple of weeks ago about being bullied by a Ukrainian refugee in your home? Sorry if I have that wrong, but that person was also being pushed into buying cigarettes for the refugee. Don't. The cost will wreck your finances.

Your figure if £500 a month doesn't seem that surprising to me, I'm afraid although I am not a smoker myself. My mother smokes 40+ cigarettes a day and has for decades. I've been in the supermarket with her helping her do her shopping. She has a tiny appetite so may only spend around £25 on food but she then goes up to the customer service kiosk and spends nearly £100 on cigarettes!!!

£500 a month for fags, that's why i smoke roll ups much cheaper.

Not much, really. Just the lungs and kidneys.

Not me, but the cost of smoking to someone dear to me. And that’s the true cost.

No way would I be funding this habit

World cigarette prices

at least you’re not in Australia

No, I am not the person who was/is bullied. They were my dependant before, are now, and likely will be until the end of their life, just that it is much more expensive now. I am not going to throw my weight around and demand that they quit immediately (although, of course, from health perspective I'd like that very much).

That's so true, but that is a lost fight already, nothing I could do or say would persuade them otherwise. And they had cancer, recovered against all odds and are in full remission now, and hey - see, it wasn't that bad after all! Infuriating, but nothing to be done.

$27 for a pack!!!

Dodgy, under the counter cigarettes can contain all kinds of crap, as they are unregulated. Including some additives that are actually poisonous.

I used to smoke 30 a day. Based on the £11 a pack they cost when I quit, I would be spending £495 a month.
I switched to vaping last year and usually spend £50 in a 6 week period.
At the end of the day, if they can't afford to smoke, they can't afford it. It's not your job to pay for someone's habit.

Try a cheap disposable vape to use as a tool to reduce volume.
I know a handful of people who smoked for years but started using vapes because of work and ended up accidentally quitting.
It doesn't have to be framed as quitting just as a bridge between fags. For £5 it's a low cost trial too.
But for smoking switching to rollies will save a bomb. Even if you don't buy snide tobacco it's still a massive saving. Plus they don't burn away like ready rolled they go out plus you dictate how thin they are so use less tobacco add in the time gap forced by having to actually roll some it's an easy saving.
Do try a vape though, it'll take a couple of weeks with no pressure for the habit to switch but you don't have to risk £50 to try.

Sounds like vaping is the way to go. The cost is probably why far fewer people smoke in the UK and those who do, either smoke roll ups, have a dodgy supply here or buy abroad. Definitely don't carry on buying cigarettes for this person. That's insane and not your responsibility.

When DP used to smoke, he bought as much tobacco as he could when we went on holiday to Spain or Malta where it was a quarter to a third of the UK price and because we went about 3 times a year we could just about cover this.

But he quit using Champix from his GP after about 30 years as a smoker and many many failed attempts before. Just because this person is a lifelong heavy smoker, it doesn't mean it's not worth quitting now.

They could live another 20 years or more and not smoking could improve their health. It could also save around £120k based on current prices and consumption rate. That would buy a house in many parts of the country and they're literally setting fire to the money instead.

My husband vapes and it doesn't cost him £50 pm,more like £5 as he makes his own e liquid. Probably spends £10 every other month on coils.

Are they aware of what they are costing you? Or are you hiding it.

If they don't want to vape & don't like rolling their own.

JPS make your own.

You need a machine (it will last years)
www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Your-Own-Cigarette-Maker/dp/B00797W21C/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_i=B00797W21C&psc=1

Cigarette tubes - this is 1000 which is 10 boxes of 100, you can buy in smaller quantities but a heavy smoker would go through them fast enough.
www.amazon.co.uk/MAKE-YOUR-CIGARETTE-TUBE-1000/dp/B006H9D8B6

A tub of tobacco - makes approx 80-100 cigarettes.
groceries.asda.com/product/jps/players-jps-volume-tobacco/910002995697

Link to show you what the stuff looks like.
Tubs of tobacco available in most supermarkets, packets of the cigarette tubes only sometimes available (individual packs not a 10 pack like the link) in supermarkets & usually not for home delivery, machine very rarely available in supermarkets but probably a pound or two cheaper if you shop around.

Works out about half price compared to packets of cigarettes, but look like them & have the filters already in the tubes.
Can be less depending on how much tobacco you pack in the tube.
Doesn't need to be really densely packed.

You'd also need a cigarette packet to put them in - you can just reuse one from purchased cigarettes or buy a case.

My DH spends approximately £350 a month on cigarettes. I have given up suggesting he stop and anyway he doesn’t want to !
we can afford it but it does annoy me .

Definitely don't carry on buying cigarettes for this person. That's insane and not your responsibility.
I am not buying cigarettes, otherwise I would have seen the issue much earlier. I added them as an additional cardholder, and we agreed to have a monthly review of the expenditure for me to suggest ways to do things better. I was quite surprised by the high amount spent on "groceries" (as it comes on the app), and we went through receipts to see what the issue might be (I didn't ask, they keep them out of habit).