According to an estimate, around 18 billion cigarettes are smoked each day by chronic and casual smokers worldwide. This huge number means that there are huge companies that profit from the sales of cigarettes and a huge list of people who suffer from wasting their money by smoking.
Another shocking thing about smoking is that around 80% of smokers live in developing countries. Trends in the U.K. are not different either, as most smokers in this country are homeless or have poor economic conditions. Keep reading this article to find out more about the economics of smoking.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Why? Free to subscribe, no paywall, daily business news digest.
1. Superb sales
You can have an idea about the superb sales of cigarettes as about 6.5 trillion cigarettes are sold each year. Leading countries like the United States have tobacco farms that provide the means of production for this huge industry. Other countries that contribute to the production of tobacco are India and China.
The U.K. residents collectively bought tobacco worth 18.26 billion pounds in the year 2020, according to Statista. Although tobacco sales have declined in the U.K. and other places around the world, it’s still true that tobacco is a huge industry.
2. A costly option
Tobacco has been proven to be deadly for cigarette smokers. Keeping the harsh consequences in mind, governments in the U.K. and around the world have increased the prices of cigarettes. A shocking fact about cigarette prices is that an average smoker in the U.K. spends around £3,000 on smoking every year.
Money spent on cigarettes is truly wasted as a smoker doesn’t get any true benefit from smoking. Many public places are putting a ban on smokers, and doing so will push smokers to spend more money – as they will have to travel to outdoor places outside their towns where they can find a place to smoke.
3. Strict taxation around the globe
A great tactic to curb the smoking habits of the people is increasing the taxes on smoking items. The presence of taxes will make people reconsider their smoking habits and persuade them to leave their tobacco addiction for good.
The U.K. government has been revising the taxation on cigarettes in the past, and Smokers now have to pay an additional 22 pence for every pack of cigarettes containing 20 cigarettes. Some people think that the government should impose more taxes on cigarettes to get money from rich smokers. Still, considering the harmful side effects, the government should promote an alternative of cigarettes to the masses.
4. Homeless people and smoking
One of the many reasons why smoking ends up destroying lives is that cigarettes have made their way to the lives of homeless people. A whopping 70% of the smokers in the U.K. don’t have their own homes. The increasing prices of smoking products add the burden on chronic homeless smokers and make them open to smoking-related diseases.
The UCL and LSBU have recently started a joint venture to convince homeless people to start vaping instead of smoking cigarettes. However, is vaping cheaper than smoking? The amazing thing about vaping products is that they are very affordable compared to cigarettes.
5. The healthcare problems
It has been found that vaping products contain around 4000 deadly chemicals that can destroy a person’s health in no time. Overcoming the side effects of smoking is not easy either. A chronic smoker may easily become a victim of cardiovascular diseases that are easy to cure and come with costly medical treatment.
Doctors around the world are encouraging people to overcome their smoking habits and adopt something else that helps them quit smoking cold turkey.
6. Some affordable alternatives
An important element that has decreased the popularity of cigarettes in the market is the increasing popularity of vaping products. According to an estimate, the vaping industry in the U.K. made around 2.8 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2019, and this number has only increased in the last couple of years.
It is estimated that vaping products will succeed in overcoming the popularity of cigarettes in the market. The reason behind this prediction is that the taxes on vaping products are not the same as on cigarettes, vaping products are affordable, and many healthcare professionals are encouraging the use of vaping products to overcome tobacco addiction.
