A pack of Marlboro cigarettes sells for $5.09, plus tax, at a local convenience store. That means that someone who swings by on their way to work each morning is shelling out more than $25.45 per week. Add in the weekends and the price goes up to $35.63.
At this price, a pack-a-day smoker would spend more than $1,857.85 over the course of a year, enough for round-trip airfare for two to see Marlboros being made in Richmond, Va.
If they start at the legal age of 18, by the time they hit 30, they've spent more than $22,294.20 - plenty to buy nine 50-inch plasma screen televisions.
By age 65, one pack of cigarettes a day adds up to $87,300.15, meaning a smoker would have spent enough to send their grandchild to college.
Despite increasingly severe restrictions on when and where people can light up, cigarette consumption is a right, as many smokers are quick to point out.
But that does not deter efforts to convince people to quit - or not to begin in the first place.
Economic impact, as well as raising awareness of health issues, are two means by which the American Cancer Society hopes to convince people to quit smoking.
A recent $1-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes has been cited by legislators as a means to diminish smoking in Iowa. Smoking rates among Iowa adults dropped from 21.4 percent in 2006 to 19.4 percent in 2007, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
Today is the 33rd Great American Smoke-Out, an event organized by the American Cancer Society.
In past years, the smoke-out implored smokers to give up their cigarettes for the day.
"Things have changed over the years," said Kathy Holdefer, a spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society. "The smoke-out isn't just a one-day thing. We're trying to encourage smokers to use the date as the day they give up smoking for good."
That's not to say that quitting for just a day is not without benefit.
Indeed, a smoker's health begins to improve almost immediately after their last puff.
After the first 12 hours of quitting, carbon monoxide levels in a smoker's bloodstream return to normal, according to a report by the United States surgeon general.
Within two weeks, circulation and lung function begin to improve. Once a month has past, coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
By the time someone has given up smoking for a year, the excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker, according to the surgeon general's report. Ten years after kicking the smoking habit, lung cancer death rates are half that of a continuing smoker.
"Heavy, longtime smokers have the most to gain by quitting," Holdefer said.
Giving up smoking is not an easy task for most.
To aid in the process, the American Cancer Society offers free counseling through Quitline, which can point someone who wants to quit smoking toward specialists in their area, Holdefer said.
"Counselors are available 24 hours per day," she said.
Quitline counselors can be reached at (800) 227-2345.
Contact Jesse Helling at (515) 573-2141 or jhelling@messengernews.net
