Smoking only 20 cigarettes a day will cost you hundreds of thousands of pounds over your working lifetime, that's for those that make it that far.
The figures are below:
Cost of smoking in the United States
| No. | Cost/Pack | Week | Month | 1 Year | 10 Years | Lifetime (18-65 yrs) |
| 5 | $4.52 | $7.91 | $33.90 | $421.57 | $5,333.38 | $86,991.83 |
| 10 | $4.52 | $15.82 | $67.80 | $843.14 | $10,666.77 | $173,983.65 |
| 15 | $4.52 | $23.73 | $101.70 | $1,264.71 | $16,000.15 | $260,975.48 |
| 20 | $4.52 | $31.64 | $135.60 | $1,686.28 | $21,333.53 | $347,967.30 |
| 25 | $4.52 | $39.55 | $169.50 | $2,107.84 | $26,666.91 | $434,959.13 |
| 30 | $4.52 | $47.46 | $203.40 | $2,529.41 | $32,000.30 | $521,950.95 |
| 40 | $4.52 | $63.28 | $271.20 | $3,372.55 | $42,667.06 | $695,934.60 |
| 50 | $4.52 | $79.10 | $339.00 | $4,215.69 | $53,333.83 | $869,918.25 |
| 60 | $4.52 | $94.92 | $406.80 | $5,058.83 | $64,000.59 | $1,043,901.90 |
~ 5% interest rate for savings - eMoney Market rate in US is currently 5.3%
Cost of smoking in the United Kingdom
| No. | Cost/Pack | Week | Month | 1 Year | 10 Years | Lifetime (18-65 yrs) |
| 5 | £5.50 | £9.63 | £41.25 | £515.51 | £6,852.58 | £149,180.81 |
| 10 | £5.50 | £19.25 | £82.50 | £1,031.03 | £13,705.17 | £298,361.63 |
| 15 | £5.50 | £28.88 | £123.75 | £1,546.54 | £20,557.75 | £447,542.44 |
| 20 | £5.50 | £38.50 | £165.00 | £2,062.05 | £27,410.34 | £596,723.26 |
| 25 | £5.50 | £48.13 | £206.25 | £2,577.57 | £34,262.92 | £745,904.07 |
| 30 | £5.50 | £57.75 | £247.50 | £3,093.08 | £41,115.51 | £895,084.89 |
| 40 | £5.50 | £77.00 | £330.00 | £4,124.11 | £54,820.68 | £1,193,446.52 |
| 50 | £5.50 | £96.25 | £412.50 | £5,155.13 | £68,525.85 | £1,491,808.15 |
| 60 | £5.50 | £115.50 | £495.00 | £6,186.16 | £82,231.01 | £1,790,169.78 |
* average cost per pack of £5.50
~ 6% interest rate for savings - average
building society rate
If you're really sceptical and a sucker for punishment then this page on the true price of smoking will take you to a page showing week by week the costs over 60 years.