$8 a Pack? Here’s How Much Smoking Really Costs You in Michigan

Smoking doesn’t just ruin your health. It can also burn a nasty hole through your wallet. The cost of smoking is much more than the price you pay for a pack. 

We know by now that tobacco use and cigarette smoking can be deadly. The economic and societal costs of smoking also create a large impact. Every year, smoking costs the U.S. more than $300 billion, which includes both medical care and lost productivity. Unfortunately, some people will have to pay more depending on the state in which they live.

The research gurus at WalletHub calculated the potential monetary losses- including both the lifetime and annual cost of a cigarette pack per day, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs- brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.

Michigan smokers will burn up over $1.5 billion on smoking in their (usually) shortened lifetime and almost $31,000 per year. The numbers were calculated by adding up out of pocket costs, financial opportunity lost, healthcare cost per smoker and income loss. You can read more on the methodology and see full results and rankings here.

Bottom line, if you call your smokes by their proper brand name or use slang like cancer sticks or coffin nails- whether they are op's or not, cigarettes can cost you.