17 Responses to “Show how smoking hurts their wallets: Free tool”

1. BJS Says:
   November 4th, 2009 at 2:43 pm

   If only it were that easy! Believe me, smokers already know how much their habit costs them, and others. They know how it affects their health. They know that it smells bad. They know that it makes them less desirable to the opposite sex. . . If the ‘knowing’ was enough to make a smoker quit, there would be very few smokers left. Most smokers are not unintelligent – just addicted to a very powerful substance. Let’s lobby to make cigarettes illegal! But, no, our government will not make illegal a substance from which they gain so much in tax money – even if it is killing us. Maybe the Federall Government could be enticed to make cigarettes illegal by refusing to pass HealthCare Reform until we take away this very deadly, very costly, very legal killer!

2. Stacy Says:
   November 6th, 2009 at 9:37 am

   AMEN BJS! Cigarettes and Alcohol kill way more people than do illegal drugs! One thing I wanted to mention was the way cigarette smoker’s productivity at work is affected. On average, it takes around 10 minutes to smoke a cigarette. Combine that with socializing in the smoking area and anyone who smokes whenever they get a fancy is wasting mucho company time. We have a smoking cessation program that our employer pays for and NO ONE has enrolled. We have quite a number of smokers at my job, some of them have lost every real tooth in their mouths, have COPD, Asthma, obesity, shortness of breath, look way older than they are and even smoke when they have bad colds and no one will quit. One employee had a severe heart attack and has a partially clogged corotiod artery and is still smoking. We had 2 people quit successfully in the last year and they both went cold turkey because they said they can’t do it any other way. We also need to stop people from smoking who get medic-aid and medi-care.

3. LC Says:
   November 6th, 2009 at 10:45 am

   I just quit smoking recently. If the gov’t made smoking illegal I would have gotten my cigarettes illegally and probably kept smoking just because I don’t like being forced into anything! – It’s as simple as that! Quitting has been THE most difficult thing I’ve ever done but there’s no one that could have ‘made’ me quit. All you can do is inform, encourage and suppoprt – let people make their own decisions. When you start telling people how they should live their lives you could get yourself into some real trouble. Non-smokers can be very judgemental and that breeds resentment. If you only knew how difficult it is to quit maybe you would be a little more understanding. In Stacey’s comment it seems amazing that one employee had a heart attack and clogged artery and chooses to still smoke…that’s how powerful the addiction is! It’s not that this person chooses to let tobacco ruin their life – they are truly addicted. Along with the yearning for a cigarette there is a bit of a ‘panic’ attack that goes with it. I’ve known for 30 years that tobacco is bad but it ‘owned’ me. I’m finally free but it’s been unbelievably difficult. What we need is a sure-fire cure.

4. F5 Says:
   November 6th, 2009 at 1:28 pm

   I smoked for 20+ years and successfully quit 15 years ago. I tried to quit several times, but was unsuccessful. I knew smoking was bad for me and others around me, but I always felt that it was mainly just harming me. I felt then that if it was just hurting me then I was OK with that since it was so tough for me to quit. What finally made it easier for me to quit was becoming aware that my very act of smoking served to be a personal statement that I thought smoking was OK, not just for me, but for other people too. I became aware that just walking down the street smoking would be seen by others and would serve to be a positive statement to others that smoking is OK. When I realized that by my action of smoking I would be influencing one or maybe hundreds of other people to start smoking or to continue smoking, that gave me the drive to stop and stop for good. A similar concept can apply to a whole range of activities. Somehow, I felt that if I am only responsible for my own actions and those actions only affect me, then whatever I choose to do is OK. When I saw that my actions affect others, I was not willing to be responsible, to any degree, for teaching, instructing or even tacitly approving behavior that ultimately will harm others. I know this is true because I see myself emulating and learning from others as well. Why did I start smoking? Mainly because my brother started first and some of his friends smoked and that made it a good thing to do. Ultimately each person is responsible for their own actions, but each person also affects everyone else that they come in contact with to some degree and so it is vitally important to encourage behavior that is good for people and discourage behavior that is bad. I feel that passing laws against smoking will probably cause a lot of smokers to find ways to circumvent the law; however, ultimately, I believe it would encourage more people to stop smoking and less people to start smoking. So, generally, I favor making smoking illegal. More importantly, I feel that continued education of both young and old concerning how smoking affects people is very important. But most important is the education of people that everything they do affects not just them, but many others as well. I believe in running my life not just how it is best for me but how it is best for others, as well.

5. KDK Says:
   November 6th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

   Well said by everyone. I’ve never been a smoker, but have seen enough friends and co-workers struggle with it to know how difficult it must be to stop. It does affect others, including family members who must deal with the consequences of second hand smoke. I think the calculator should go a couple of steps further, and show what kind of retirement savings could be generated by putting the money into a 401(k) or IRA instead of spending it on cigarettes. Secondly, somehow calculate the cost of health insurance and other medical costs now and into the future, not just for the smoker, but for the family as well. I think we can all see that health plans will at some point reward non-smokers and those with healthy lifestyles with premium discounts, lower deductibles, etc., and leave the smokers with higher rates so that their higher health care costs can be paid for more by them than by everyone else in their plans. I don’t for a moment believe that this comparison by itself with make people stop using tobacco products, but teamed with more education and incentives can’t hurt.

6. LC Says:
   November 6th, 2009 at 5:47 pm

   So, F5, are those cravings EVER going to go away? I know that the nicotine is out of the system within 72 hours but the cravings continue – not quite as often now but just as strong. I know I’ll never start again but I’d like to hear that I won’t be coveting a smoke in 5 years…

7. F5 Says:
   November 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pm

   After 15 years I absolutely have no cravings. They were history, for the most part, after about 3 months. Hanging around smokers tends to bring back cravings in the first year. Now, being around smokers is just a minor irrantant with no craving.

8. Stacy Says:
   November 9th, 2009 at 7:28 am

   I am fighting a battle of weight loss which is just as bad and unhealthy as smoking. I used to “Closet” smoke socially or when I got a craving but I always would quit and throw the rest of the cigarettes away then it’d be months before I’d smoke again. I last smoked socially in 2007 because I had terrible eye and nasal allergies from it. My dad quit smoking “cold turkey” 25 years ago and it was rough on him the first 2 years. I remember when I was a kid, we’d drive 12 hours from NY to SC to visit relatives and he puffed on Marlboro Reds the entire way and when we’d say we needed air he’d crack the window just a teeny bit LOL. Only now do I see why I had constant sore throats, bronchitis and other allergies because of his smoking not to mention what we and our house probably smelled like.

9. LC Says:
   November 9th, 2009 at 10:37 am

   Thanks F5 – it’s good to know that there will be an end to the cravings at some point hopefully…
   I don’t believe that money will be the main incentive to help smokers decide to stop smoking – although I have saved a bundle in the last 2 months. The obvious reason to quit is for better health reasons – which are, thankfully, easy to feel immediately. I have wanted to quit for 20 years but what pushed me into finally doing it was asking myself if I was waiting for the bad news in order to quit. I knew I was going to have to quit some day – but did I want to do it from a hospital bed struggling for air – or now? It’s been 2 months today and I am so proud of myself! The weight gain is horrible but I will tackle that next. I decided to deal with what was killing me fastest and now that I know that I can do this, I know I can do anything – like loose 50 lbs! I am so happy! We can do it Stacey! We’ve only got one life to live and we need to do this for ourselves – and for our families.

10. BJS Says:
    November 10th, 2009 at 8:32 am

    F5, thank you for that very powerful insight! I’ve always known ‘we are all connected’ but I’ve never looked at it in quite that way. And as HR staff, we have the power to either negatively or positively effect a huge population each and every day. That is a daunting thought and a heavy responsibility. Thank you for the reminder that we must all be cognizant of our actions as we never know who is watching and what they are taking away from our behavior. You’ve given me a very positive thought for today, and a reminder to be conscientiously aware every day. It isn’t just about smoking, it is about how the way we choose to live our lives effects every person we meet on a daily basis. I know I’ll have a smile on my face when I leave my office today – even if it’s just to go to the coffee machine

11. KJ Says:
    November 10th, 2009 at 9:59 am

    Hang in there LC. You can do it.

    My husband began smoking when he was 16. Both of his parents smoked as well as his three siblings. He smoked for 24 years. I can’t relate well to that, because I have never been tempted to try smoking. When we first met, he was smoking two packs a day. I guess he was really smitten with me, because after dating only one month he tried to quit cold turkey – for me. He wasn’t able to do it – the addition was too strong – but he did cut back to less than half a pack a day and continued that way for another year. I never nagged him about smoking, though I hated it. I understood that he would have to take the initiative; it would require his will power to stop and to overcome the addiction. Like all smokers he knew it was bad for his health, and all the myriad of negatives that goes along with smoking, but the addiction had a powerful hold over him. When he as finally ready – mentally – to try again, he used a new item on the market at the time (1995) – Nicorette gum, AND he forced himself to follow the guide’s suggestions for emotional support and reinforcement. He carried a business card-sized paper in his wallet with the top 10 reason why he wanted to quit. (Things like health, to be a good role model for the kids, etc.) He would take that card out and read over it as he chewed his gum to thwart an attack of cravings. It still was not easy. He was irritable and restless for some months, but he stuck by his decision to quit. And as a reward, Nicorette ran an essay contest for their product users and my husband won a very nice 7-day cruise for two to the Caribbean! He no longer has cravings, and finds cigarette smoke distasteful. His health has improved and he is grateful to be smoke-free.

12. Stacy Says:
    November 10th, 2009 at 10:21 am

    AWESOME Experience KJ: In your case, quitting did have it’s rewards. I am sure most of all, you have your hubby back on the road to health and no cigarettes!

13. LC Says:
    November 10th, 2009 at 10:36 am

    Thank you, KJ – you and your husband absolutely inspire me! Thank you for sharing his story – and for the loving support that you gave him. I can see how you were very understanding of the difficulty that your husband was going thru. I think that anyone who wants to quit should try everything including Chantix, gums, losenges, accupunture, hypnotism – whatever it takes! And then reward yourself often. My boyfriend and I went to Mendocino after the first month, (We BOTH quit). Now he wants to go to the Cook Islands! I never want to smoke again!

14. Sharon D Says:
    November 12th, 2009 at 2:43 pm

    I don’t understand why we continue to rehash this smoking problem over and over but never see anything about the solution that is already available to all of us. I have been “smoking” an electronic cigarette since May. It gives me the exact feel of smoking. It gives me the nicotine. It does not give me the 4000 chemicals, at lease 43 of which are known carcinogens that are found in tobacco cigarettes. It does not give me the tar that you get from real smoke. So I get to live 20 years longer. It costs less than half what tobacco cigarettes do. I don’t have to go stand in the snow to smoke. I can smoke it anywhere. I personally have “smoked” my cigarette inside a hospital, inside the airport, on an airline flight, while shopping and at my desk at work. Seems like a no brainer to me.

15. Stacy Says:
    November 12th, 2009 at 2:54 pm

    SHARON D: A few questions…How long do you actually smoke the electronic cigarette? Does it have actual smoke, Steam Vapor or more like an inhaler? If you wanted to quit, would your withdrawal be any easier vs. a regular cigarette. How expensive is an electronic cigarette as far as whatever cartridges the nicotine comes in? Just curious because the concept of an electronic cigarette is truly interesting and could be a viable solution to some friends of mine who don’t want to stop smoking.

16. Lars Says:
    November 12th, 2009 at 4:23 pm

    Another way to save money and still enjoy their smoking is to start rolling their own. I have a Top-o-matic machine that I put tobacco in, put on a tube with a filter already attached, crank a lever, and I have a cigarette that costs less than a penny, twenty five times less than a manufactured cigarette. The machine is $40 and pays for itself with the first pound of tobacco, usually around $24 a pound. A box of tubes (200) is about $3. It is a huge savings after the first pound.

17. Sharon D Says:
    November 12th, 2009 at 4:55 pm

    Stacy,
    People take an average of 12-16 puffs of a regular cigarette. You should do the same with the e-cig and then put it down like you would put out a real cigarette. It has actual “smoke” which is actually a harmless water vapor. Hubby actually blows “smoke rings with it” but it is harmless, no second hand smoke issue, doesn’t stink up your house and you don’t have to wash it off the inside of your windshield. Your withdrawal probably wouldn’t be any easier if you wanted to quit the e-cigs because you’re still getting your nicotine, however the cartridges are available in high, medium, low or no nicotine so some might find it beneficial to try to wean themselves. The cartridges, if you buy them in a four pack (8 cartridges each) cost $2.50 per cartridge. Each cartridge is equilivant to one pack of cigarettes.

    Lars, In our state they just raised the taxes on tobacco and tubes 600%. Hubby started rolling his own until they did that. Now it would cost him about $45 to $50 per carton to roll his own

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