15 ways to ruin your financial future: Start smoking
If health risks can't convince you not to start smoking, maybe future poverty will. The financial costs of this nasty habit are far more than the cost of a pack of cigarettes. Smokers pay more for insurance, dry cleaning, and dental care. Their homes and cars have less resale value and they are at higher risk of having a fire.
Smokers also don't make the bucks. They earn less and receive less in pension and Social Security benefits. They often have to pay additional premiums for insurance coverage. And they may have trouble getting a job. More and more employers are announcing they will no longer employ smokers.
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Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Michigan stopped hiring smokers for full-time positions at both its Michigan campuses.
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Alaska Airlines requires a nicotine test before hiring people.
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Union Pacific won't hire smokers.
Don't miss the rest of our series on 15 Ways to Ruin Your Financial Future!
So why on earth do people ever start smoking? That's easy--to feel "cool." I should know, I am an ex-smoker. Like most smokers, I started as a teenager. Approximately 80% of smokers start in their teens and the American Lung Association estimates that every minute four thousand eight hundred teens will take their first drag off a cigarette.
I remember my first drag. Some kids were passing around a cigarette and I tried it. I was hooked almost instantly and up to a pack a day within months. I felt cool and wiser when I smoked and it helped me belong with a group at school. Like most teenagers, I didn't worry about the health implications, those problems were a million years away.
But I quickly discovered that I couldn't quit. By my late teens, I was a regular smoker at 1 1/2 packs per day. I had frequent colds, sinus infections and other problems. I would quit for awhile and then relapse. I even quit for three years at one point and made the mistake of bumming a cigarette at a party. I was back smoking within 24 hours.
Finally, in my late twenties, I quit for good. I am very grateful that my risk for smoking related health problems like cancer, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, stroke, leukemia, and more is dramatically reduced. But I have to be honest, there are times I still crave a butt.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-24-2008 @ 8:00AM
Simzee said...
It's funny how my boyfriend QUIT smoking & ended up SICK all the time. Sorry but (98% of friends) those who quit smoking got SICK all the time AFTER they quit smoking. We all got heavier too. It wrecks havoc on the body when you QUIT SMOKING.
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9-24-2008 @ 10:44AM
Lan said...
The real question is Do you really want to quit? If yes....The reason so many people get sick after they quit smoking has many faces. The 1st is that the body has been in an addictive state and needs to detox. when the body detoxes sometimes it can make you feel worse for a while until your body has time to clean house. The 2nd reason is that water intake needs to be increased as well as improved nutritional support. This needs to be from healthy fresh foods and quality nutritional supplements. This is a lifestyle change no mater if it is to quit smoking, drinking or drugs and only those truly commited to improving their life style will succeed. 3rd you have to have a support network, friend, etc. 4th you have got to find something else to do with your hands. there are lots of resons for smoking and lots of ways to quit. It is all a matter of mind over matter. YOUR mind and YOUR will power will determine YOUR success to live a healthier life. Our bodies ultimatly do what WE tell them to do.
9-24-2008 @ 12:20PM
Brenda said...
Yes it does wreak havoc on the body, but only temporarily. Assuming that you are providing your body everything it needs to properly recover from the toxins you had been feeding it for years, which it has learned to adapt to and become dependent upon.
Nicotine affects the levels of dopamine in the brain. We are all aware that dopamine is the "pleasure" chemical that our bodies produce. This factor is the reason why nicotine is so highly addictive and hard to quit. When nicotine addicts stop smoking they may suffer from restlessness, hunger, depression, headaches, and other uncomfortable feelings. These are called "withdrawal symptoms" because they happen when nicotine is withdrawn from the body. Probably the reason why you feel "sick" from QUITTING smoking.
The reason why you all got fat is separated into two parts really. The first part is chemical/emotional the second part is physical/habitual. Nicotine activates certain neurons in part of the brain called the mesolimbic system. This system is the same pathway that creates the intense cravings to indulge in certain foods or activities, such as sex. When the mesolimbic pathway is stimulated, the neurons secrete dopamine. In turn, dopamine provides the brain with a chemical reward that literally arouses it. Tests have shown that both cocaine and nicotine produce this effect in the brain. In general, nicotine continually stimulates the release of dopamine. Food has a similar affect so when you take away the nicotine you look to food, not only for to fill that physical/habitual habit, but also to get the dopamine "reward" that you are no longer receiving from nicotine.
Have you ever eaten when you were bored? Have you ever lit up a cigarette for something to "pass the time" when you were bored or sitting around with nothing to do. Well it goes hand-in-hand. Take away the cigarettes and that only leaves you with food as a crutch.
9-24-2008 @ 10:14AM
Adam said...
Good god if I have to hear one more attack against smokers I think I am going to go ape sh*t. Leave these people alone, go pick on someone else. Why not divert your attention to the failing economy or the fact that English speaking Americans are becoming out numbered? Seriously? Cigarette smoke is an issue? Doesn't anyone else think this is absurd and should be stopped?
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9-24-2008 @ 12:19PM
Brenda said...
Well according to this whole article people who smoke are contributing to a failing economy. Learn2comprehend.
9-24-2008 @ 10:45AM
Mike said...
Good point on smoking, always remember when telling your kids not to smoke, it cost money to start the habit..it cost a lot more money in the long run to quit smoking.Add up the price on a pack of smokes for the year that you spend on them, then multply it by the age you started, till the age you're at now ..Wow alot of cash went up in smoke.. in that time.:0( ..Now remember how much was that house you wanted to buy with that pack of smokes? Add two houses with a pool. i started in the early 50s..this is the yr 2008 Think about it.(Call Me a Fool).Call your Kids something elese.. it's there life.
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9-25-2008 @ 4:03PM
Dino said...
i don't smoke but know many who do. the person who said smoking can ruin your FINANCIAL future simply HATES smoke and smokers. none of my friends are anywhere close to financial ruin because that habit. their health, sure we know it's bad for you but not to kill your finances. we all spend money on something. i believe many of these movie goers and buyers are throwing away crazy money per year.
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9-26-2008 @ 12:51AM
Trisha said...
I smoked for about 42 years and quit about six months ago. I spent alot of money over the years on them yes but there are alot of other things I didn't do that cost money. It was my thing and it never kept me from getting a job, insurance, or any of the things the blogger was saying. I quit because I decided I wanted too so I will have a better chance at watching my grandchildren grow up. Quitting has made me have alot of illnessess and symtons I haven't had in the past. Never experienced a headache in my 56 years till I quit but I am determined this to shall pass eventually. It all comes down to personal responsibility. You get what you put out. The blogger is full of bull, I am full of experience. If you start smoking you will be sorry. If you get fat you will be sorry. If you don't learn to budget money you will be sorry. If you do not obey the law you will be sorry. And so it is....
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9-26-2008 @ 6:31AM
ChanZ said...
At 66 years old I still fail to understand the smoker's mentality. Why would anyone willingly start an expensive habit that leads to serious health problems and makes you and everything that you own or are around stink!
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9-27-2008 @ 6:43AM
SuKDu said...
I started smoking back in the early 60's, and have never had any desire to give it up. I enjoy smoking. I mind my manners, so if you don't want me to smoke in your house or car, I won't. But I still have the right to smoke in various places off my property and you have no right to insult me for doing so: I'm never going to quit because YOU don't like it.
BTW, I have paid off my mortgage, paid cash for my new car, have no credit card debt and could buy another house for cash with the money I have in the bank. You would kill for my FICO score.
I live well within my income and can afford my little pleasures. Bet most of you can't say the same.
You non-smokers had better wise up: Continue increasing taxes on cigarettes so you don't have to pay for various non-smoking related issues is going to come back on you or your children some day.
Who do you think is going to pay for all those programs once that tax base is gone?
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