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!

You were smoking 50 cigarettes each a day???????????????

Also op I'm assuming it's a parent your subsidising. You've had lots of great suggestions. I'd say just give them the ideas + the £250 your happy to spend and let them work it out themselves.

britneyisfree I smoked roughly 40 a day and DH anything between 40 and 80

@x2boys Even as a hardened smoker there was no way I was smoking those, arsenic, weed killer and rat poison, nah my silk cuts were bad enough! Got a friend who doesn't even question what's she's buying, scary.

@LowlandLucky well done to you both for quitting.

britneyisfree Thank you, best thing we have ever done, nearly 10 years and have never once wanted another one

"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."

And if the cancer came back and you were the one buying them massive packs every time you went to the continent?
It's one thing to accept that someone is a smoked, it's another to encourage it.