BIG $$$$

[Thomas3.20.2010]

If you thought lung cancer, rotting teeth and bad breath were reason enough to quit smoking, add another compelling reason to the mix –BIG $$$$. 

That's right - smoking not only ruins your health, it has the potential to ruin your financial health, too. 

WalletHub.com, a personal financial web site, estimates the potential monetary losses brought on by smoking runs well over $1.5 million over the course of a lifetime. 

The report breaks the total lifetime cost of smoking-linked spending as follows: 

- Out-of-Pocket Cost per Smoker - $120,309.00 
- Financial Opportunity Cost per Smoker - $1,137,650.00 
- Health-Care Cost per Smoker - $163,282.00 
- Income Loss per Smoker - $216,709.00 
- Other Costs per Smoker - $9,513.00 

Total Cost Over a Lifetime Per Smoker In Pennsylvania = $1,647,463 

[This hypothetical person lives in Pennsylvania. Smokers in states like Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Alaska, and Hawaii can expect to pay over $2 million for their nicotine habit over the course of their lifetimes!]

What about your employer? He/she gets to pay BIG $$$$, too! Besides the smelly clothes, breath and hair, one study of 646 smokers show companies lose 64 minutes of productivity per day from them. Assuming 50 week year, at eight hours per day, that's 33 days in lost productivity per year.

If you were your boss, who would you wish to hire?