The minimum you are likely to spend on a pack of 20 cigarettes from a licensed UK retailer is £8.30. If you smoke 10 a day, this adds up to £29.05 per week, around £204 per month and almost £1,510 per year! That's if you smoke the cheapest brands possible.
The average price for a pack of 20 cigarettes from a licensed UK retailer is actually £10.66, so the likelihood is you are spending more than you are aware of.
To get the most accurate representation of how much smoking costs you, use the NHS Smokefree cost calculator.
For the cost of about 3 weeks of smoking you could buy a video baby monitor.
For for the cost of less than a year’s worth of cigarettes, you could kit out your baby’s entire nursery (cot bed, mattress, wardrobe, changing table and even a nursing chair) or you could splash out on a brand new top of the range pram and still have money left over.
You would also have peace of mind that you have given your baby the best chance of being healthy.
Don’t forget about you! We know that stopping smoking isn’t always easy, so try to put something aside to reward yourself with for what you have achieved. You could get your nails or hair done, buy some new makeup or a new nail polish, go out for a meal or to the cinema. You deserve a treat!
Here are some more examples of what you could buy for the price of the cheapest pack of 20 cigarettes, or around half a 50g pouch of tobacco:
- 1 pack of 20 cigarettes =
- 1 baby blanket
- 3 newborn sleep suits
- 6 body suits
- About 166 newborn nappies which could last around 2 weeks