Cost... Package of Cigarettes

[Badger]

At 21 cents/pack in NC during the 60s it curbed my appetite and was cheeper than eating when I was on a tight budget. Quit after 10 years of a pack and a half a day habit. Just got angry with myself for letting them control me so I put them down. I never picked them up again. I can't imagine an annual expense of over $5k in today's prices for smoke. I don't think my grocery bill is that much.

Cheers!

[NYEXPAT]

Did the math, a pack here sells for $2.42. I smoke a 1/2 pack a day, which means I spend a lot more on coffee.

[stephaniee36]

A carton goes for $48-53 here. I am trying to quit as we speak, hard habit to break. Quit last year for 7 months and started back due to stress from w*rk...shouldnt make excuses....

[UserRequested]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephaniee36 A carton goes for $48-53 here. I am trying to quit as we speak, hard habit to break. Quit last year for 7 months and started back due to stress from w*rk...shouldnt make excuses....

I quit about a dozen times before finally succeeding.

Like any addiction, its about taking it one day at a time.

I cut from a pack down to a dozen for many years, then down to three or four a day.
Eventually it was only on weekends when I was having a drink.

Then one day, gave it up altogether.

Keep at it - you'll get there

[Idnar7]

The MegaCorp I used to work at recently became a smoke free campus. So now smokers leave the campus in their cars to smoke. Probably gone 30 minutes each time. Huge hit on productivity. They used to provide outside smoking shacks that kind of looked like ice fishing shacks (MN).

[keegs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badger At 21 cents/pack in NC during the 60s it curbed my appetite and was cheeper than eating when I was on a tight budget. Quit after 10 years of a pack and a half a day habit. Just got angry with myself for letting them control me so I put them down. I never picked them up again. I can't imagine an annual expense of over $5k in today's prices for smoke. I don't think my grocery bill is that much. Cheers!

I think they were .20 a pack at the navy exchange back in the seventies. I quit when I was about 21.

[HFWR]

The first time I saw $1/pk was in a cigarette machine in the lobby of a NYC hotel, spring 1972.

They were about $0.35 in Indiana at the time.

Somewhere between $6-$8/pk now...

[MikeD]

I was a smoker as a teenager. I also ignored every diabetes precaution. Not on purpose but just due to teen apathy. I have paid a severe price for my diabetes foolishness. I stopped smoking at age 19 because my future wife didn't like it. Last time I smoked was the morning of Jan 30th, 1974.

Mike D.

[Tadpole]

So do any of the x-smokers ever find themselves thinking - boy, could I use a smoke!?

My aunt had to quit because of health issues and many years later her last request as she was dieing was for one last cigarette.

[Redbugdave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tadpole My aunt had to quit because of health issues and many years later her last request as she was dieing was for one last cigarette.

I cannot imagine a craving that bad. I have never smoked, though.

As to the cost...David Lee Roth, (Rock Star), said it best, "I used to have a drug problem, but now I make enough money to afford it."

[Sarah in SC]

I have always said that I'd start back smoking when I turned 90! But I really doubt my last request would be for a smoke. I think it would be shrimp and grits or NC style BBQ.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tadpole So do any of the x-smokers ever find themselves thinking - boy, could I use a smoke!?

As a former heavy smoker, I have to say no.

About a month after I quit, I found half a pack in the pocket of a jacket in my closet. I got curious as to what I would think of it, so I found an ashtray and lit one up. Took one drag on it and noticed that it was identical to my first cigarette ever: made me dizzy and tasted terrible. I stubbed it out and never tried again because I never had the urge.

[JOHNNIE36]

jags, I think it's easy to quit smoking. I quit twelve or thirteen times.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Idnar7 The MegaCorp I used to work at recently became a smoke free campus. So now smokers leave the campus in their cars to smoke. Probably gone 30 minutes each time. Huge hit on productivity. They used to provide outside smoking shacks that kind of looked like ice fishing shacks (MN).

Why would they pay people to smoke? The company I worked for for 11 years was tobacco free. You couldn't smoke anywhere on the property and you couldn't leave the property if you where being paid-not even for lunch.

[JakeBrake]

One of my co-workers (now deceased) at Megacorp said that when cigarettes cost $2 apiece then that would be almost what they were worth.

[Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tadpole So do any of the x-smokers ever find themselves thinking - boy, could I use a smoke!?

Nope! Never have. But that's just me.

Cheers!

[Andre1969]

I have a roommate who smokes. However, I make him smoke outside, so at least it helps reduce the smell in the house. Sure, it still gets on his clothes and such, but at least it doesn't permeate. And, hate to say it, but I'm not *that* concerned about the value of the house. It's pretty much a tear-down special, as most of the value is in the land it sits on.

Anyway, I at least try to save him a little money. He'll usually buy cigs one pack at a time, paying $7+ each. But, on my way to work, there's a gas station that sells his brand for about $64.13 per carton, with taxes. So, I'll pick up a carton when I gas up, and he reimburses me. So, that saves him a little bit. And, if I ever go out of state to where they're cheaper, I'll pick some up. Virginia in particular is a lot cheaper, often by about $20 per carton compared to Maryland.

I hate the fact that he smokes though, and I'm glad I never picked up the habit. My grandparents on my Dad's side of the family used to smoke like chimneys back in the old days...until the Surgeon General's warning first came out around 1958 or whenever. Granddad says that, once that started making the news, it took him and Grandmom about 3 days to kick the habit. Of course, in those days, cigarettes didn't have all the addictive chemicals and such that they do today, so maybe it was easier?

And, Grandad's still kicking, at the age of 98 now. So, even though he had been smoking for decades, it appears he got lucky, with regards to long-term damage.

Unfortunately, my other Granddad, on my Mom's side of the family, wasn't so lucky. Grew up on a tobacco farm, started smoking when he was around 5 or 6. Always worked around pesticides and chemicals during his career, plus working on cars back in the days they used to have asbestos in brake shoes and such. Plus, getting gas, oil, and other fluids on you probably isn't so great in the long run. Drove a dynamite truck during WWII, as well as a mechanic, and again exposed to Lord-knows-what. And smoked the whole time through.

He was diagnosed with lung cancer when he was 73. They opened him up to see if they could remove the lung, but at that point it had spread through his lymph nodes, and it was too late, so they just slapped him back together. He was dead less than 5 months later.

[Mill]

I have so many vices. Cigarettes are one of them. I really enjoy lighting up, even in todays day and age where smokers are looked at as second-hand citizens. I am 100% certain that smoking has really isolated me in the dating pool as well. Apparently I dont care enough to make a change.

I am aware of the effects on length and quality of life. Damn it I used to be a University track runner!

But I still do it.

I quit once for a few months but every hour was a struggle, worst few months of my life, which leads me to believe that its going to be a life-long battle with these things.

Unfortunately I can easily afford cigarettes. Also unfortunately I assume my life expectancy has decreased because of them, putting pressure on me mentally to try to retire in my 40's to make up for it.

Again I guess I dont care. I wish it werent true. But cigarette smoking is genuinely fun to me, sometimes even the most fun I have in a day.