Florida smokers spend $1.7 million in a lifetime, new study says

A new study from WalletHub finds smokers in the state of Florida spend $1,724,214 in their lifetime, enough to buy a big home and a few cars.

The study also breaks down the cost per year with Florida smokers coming in at $33,808 annually.  Florida ranks number 21 on the list of all 50 states and D.C. in terms of cost: Georgia came in first with smokers spending $1,396,882 in a lifetime; Connecticut came in last with a massive $2,854,614 lifetime cost.

WalletHub says for their calculations they “assumed an adult who smokes one pack of cigarettes per day beginning at age 18.”  They also “assumed a lifespan of 51 more years, taking into account that 69 is the average age at which a smoker dies.”

As for the $1,724,214 lifetime figure, here are the costs in the categories calculated by WalletHub that lead up to that number:

• Out-of-pocket cost per smoker - $110,759 (rank 22)
• Financial-opportunity cost per smoker - $1,218,912 (rank 22)
• Health-care cost per smoker - $169,369 (rank 31)
• Income loss per smoker - $207, 603 (13)
• Other costs per smoker - $17,571 (50)
• Total cost over lifetime per smoker - $1,396,882
• Total cost per year per smoker - $33,808

The CDC says smoking is the leading cause of preventable death.  Since 1964, smoking-related illnesses have claimed over 20 million lives in the U.S.  Of those deaths, 2.5 million were non-smokers who developed diseases from secondhand smoke exposure.