Very little in this life is free. Not everything has a monetary cost, but most things carry either a starting effort or a knock-on after-effect. There might be no admission fee charged to view a sunset over the ocean, but what did it cost you to get there in order to see it? If you came from a distance away, what did it cost to stay and sleep afterwards?
The Three Visible Costs Of Smoking
1. The price of that first pack of cigarettes and something to light them with.
2. The (daily) ongoing purchases of cigarettes.
3. Buying ashtrays and other pieces of smoking paraphernalia.
Smoking’s Invisible Costs
- Re-painting rooms in which you smoke.
- Increased purchases of cough and cold medicines.
- Decline in your athletic abilities – out of breath more easily.
- Minor or severe health damage – even death.
- Jeopardizing the health of people around you through second-hand smoke
How To Avoid These Costs
That is simple- you have to give up smoking. On the face of it, this will produce big savings with zero investment – if you can do it! It is fair to say that everyone accepts that cigarette smoking involves an element of addiction to the nicotine obtained from the tobacco. In addition, there are other aspects of smoking that might be categorized as “habit forming,” which are harder to quantify. But, these just as hard to break as throwing off the nicotine addiction.
A simple decision to quit smoking costs nothing, but that may not be strong enough to enable many to successfully beat the addiction and habitual problems. Literally going “cold turkey” often fails and the person returns to their cigarettes.
Seeking Help
You may find self help groups of smokers and ex-smokers who meet up regularly to help themselves through cold turkey on a voluntary, no-charge basis. Such groups can help some smokers, but not all.
Help From Products
There are many companies with products on the market that claim to help a smoker to quit – in return for buying their products. Gum and mint candies make no such claims but many smokers believe they help. Financially these cost less than cigarettes, but they are not free. The truth of the matter is that there are no free quit smoking products on the market. If cold turkey does not work, some additional outlay will be needed. Browse the site for more information.
