Last updated: March 2, 2026 by Dr. David Park

The True Cost of Smoking

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Smoking is not only harmful to your health but also extraordinarily expensive. A pack-a-day smoker at $10 per pack spends $3,650 per year and over $36,500 in a decade.

The opportunity cost is even greater. If that money were invested at a 7% annual return instead, it would grow substantially. Quitting smoking provides both immediate health benefits and significant long-term financial savings.

Common use cases:

  • Motivating smoking cessation
  • Calculating lifetime smoking expenses
  • Understanding opportunity cost of smoking

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Dr. David Park

Applied Mathematician, PhD Mathematics

David holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from MIT. He has published research on numerical methods and computational algorithms used in engineering and scientific calculators.

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