if the dreadful pictures on cigarette packs cant make you quit smoking heres a more alarming warning smoking burns a bigger hole in your finances than you can possibly imagine et wealth estimates that a 30yearold who smokes five cigarettes a day would lose over rs 1 crore due to the habit by the time he is 60 as the world gets ready to observe notobacco day on 31 may we did some number crunching to find out the real cost a smoker pays the biggest drain on the wallet is the price of cigarettes cigarettes are priced around rs 1015 but we have assumed a price of rs 12 per stick if a person smokes five cigarettes a day he spends rs 60 dailyor rs 1800 a month however this is not a static cost cigarette prices have risen by an average 20 every year in the past four years and will keep rising every year as taxes on tobacco products go up we have assumed a more conservative rise of 8 in cigarette prices per year extrapolated over a period of 30 years the smoker will spend rs 2447 lakh on cigarettes now comes the interesting part if the money spent on cigarettes was instead invested every month to earn 9 returns a year it would grow to rs 6923 lakh in 30 years the next big cost is the higher medical expenses that smokers incur due to poor health you dont need a medical expert to tell you that smoking leads to health problems in its mildest form smoking accentuates bronchial problems but it can also lead to cancer and enhances the risk of heart attacks we have assumed that a smoker will spend an average of 400 a month on medical expenses again this cost will keep rising medical inflation is very high compared to consumer inflation prices of drugs doctors consultation charges and diagnostic charges are rising at nearly 15 assuming a 12 rise in these costs per year a smoker will spend rs 1159 lakh over a 30year period if this money was invested to earn 9 returns it would grow to rs 2670 lakh in 30 years smoking also means higher life insurance costs insurance companies know that smokers are a highrisk category the extent of the loading depends on the persons age overall health and how many cigarettes he smokes in a day we checked the hdfc life online term plan rates and found that a 30year old smoker would have to pay rs 460 higher premium every month for a cover of rs 1 crore for 30 years mercifully unlike other costs this will not rise every yearbut this additional amount would add up to rs 165 lakh and if it was invested instead would compound to rs 752 lakh in 30 years its impossible to hide the fact that you smoke when you buy life insuranceeven if you stop smoking for an extended period before the medical checkup traces of