The Cost of Smoking vs Vaping
Time:2023-10-08
Views:187
If you’re a smoker and want to quit, at least one of these three reasons is contributing to your exit. Firstly, it’s scientifically proven that smoking is harmful to your health. It causes deadly diseases such as lung cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among others. Secondly, you want to protect those around you – family, workmates, people you travel with, et al. – from the effects of passive smoking, particularly kids and pregnant women. Lastly, smoking is draining your pockets, you want to save money. Vaping is one of the best strategies to quit combustible cigarettes for good and never face a relapse.
Although the initial financial figures may appear overwhelmingly high considering all the various parts you need to buy to replace regular cigarettes, the bottom line is that, in the long-term, consumption of vapes is way cheaper than smoking.
The cost of vaping versus smoking is a hotly debated topic all over the world, the commonest subject being “which one is cheaper than the other one.” If you’re intending to switch from regular cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, you probably desire to compare the costs between vaping and smoking. Which one is cheaper?
The straight answer is that vapes would save you approximately 90% if you’re to consume a whole pack of regular cigarettes a day. This sounds juicy, right? But some factors might overturn this estimate, and sometimes make vaping more expensive than smoking.
These factors include the price of vape juice, your rate of consumption, and the cost of the e-cigarette you purchase. Let’s briefly go through each point and find how they determine the cost of vape consumption.
Type/cost of vape: Vaping devices are generally referred to as vapes or electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes, e-cigs). These vapes come in a variety of types and costs. Some of the most common types include cig-a-like vapes, pod mods, vape pens, and box mods. Traditionally, the initial cost of purchasing a vape is higher compared to a pack of combustible cigarettes. So, you must make your initial purchase as an investment.
Cost of vape juice: vape juice, also referred to as vape flavor, e-liquid, or e-juice contains four major ingredients: propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), Flavorings, and Nicotine. Besides, there are two main types of vape juices: regular (freebase nicotine) vape juice and nicotine salts(nic salts) vape juice. On average, the cost of vape juice majorly depends on the quality and the size of the bottle.
Average vape juice consumption a day: your monthly vaping costs will significantly depend on your daily consumption of vape flavor. Besides, your consumption will affect how often you’ll purchase e-juice and how much you’ll spend to maintain your vaping device in good condition. For example, the more you vape, the more you’ll have to spend to purchase dead batteries or spoilt coils.
However, despite its immense benefits as a substitute for smoking, the consumption of vape juice is still perceived as costly. But you should ask yourself how much you spend by picking up a vape.
Does it cost you more than when picking a pack of a regular cigarette while making the initial cost? In this post, we’ll explore the main differences weekly, monthly, and yearly to our wallets. Besides, we’ll mention the cost of vaping vs. smoking on different counts, and the financial impact on the health system and the world’s economy.
What’s the cost of a vape?
Vapes, whether sold as a complete unit with all components in place or individually in sections to restore/replace worn-out parts vary in price. These variations are caused by factors such as type of brand/manufacturer, taste/desire of the vaper, the demand of the product, and the quality of the device. If you’re a newbie, check a brief rundown of what you should expect from various types of vapes.
Starter All-In-One (AIO) kit: this comes with a battery, heater (coil), and vape juice reservoir or tank (pre-filled or empty).
Pod kit: it’s compact and slightly broader but shorter than an AIO kit. The device comes with an empty tank for vapers to refill themselves.
Vape mod: this is a modern vaping device with several technical features to customize your vaping experience. It allows the adjustment of different parameters such as wattage, voltage, airflow, and temperature to give you your preferred vape experience. Tanks in these kits are attached and also sold individually should they require replacement.
When you switch from combustible cigarettes to vapes, you’ve to spend more upfront to purchase the gear, especially if you have never used e-cigarettes before. That said, vaping is not less costly in hindsight compared to a single pack of regular cigarettes comparing the overall cost of a vape.
Nevertheless, there are less-costly and beginner-friendly vapes, so albeit the price of vapes being a little bit higher than a cigarette pack, to begin with, over time, you will find your savings piling up! Also, you need to consider the health gains you’ll be getting from vaping and factor in the long-term costs to appreciate the full impact of using vapes instead of a combustible cigarette.
What are the refilling prices?
You may as well opt to pick up some components on a semi-regular basis. For vaping experts who are using advanced vape mods and sub-ohm tanks, they’ll be required to change the coils regularly, one average, twice a month, although this varies depending on the frequency of their consumption and the quality of the vape (brand/manufacturer).
Vape coils can cost up to $15 depending on the vaping design it’s meant for, the number of pieces per pack, and the brand.
At some point, you may be required to replace old or faulty batteries. On average, smaller and less expensive vape batteries can last for three months while the advanced and quality models can last for even 18 months. These batteries can cost anywhere between $10 and $20. So, for impartiality, we can say $15 after every six months.
Regarding the amount of vape juice, an average vaper consumes 10 ml of vape juice a week, which translates to barely $10 for good quality e-juice. That’s roughly $520 per year spent on vape juices and a mere fraction of the overall cost of smoking! Even for heavy vapers who spend twice or thrice on vape juices, their expenditure will be way lower than what smokers spent on a combustible cigarette.
Cost breakdown
In the long run, your costs for vaping will plummet compared to some other person smoking. And just like smoking, your spending will change depending on your favorite brands and how often you consume their products. Some cheap brands offer vape juices for as little as $1. Nevertheless, when it comes to money matters, you will certainly get what you pay for. That said, you’ll be far better off if you decide to spend a bit more on quality products and avoid returning to the conventional smoking habit.
Increasing the cost of tobacco-laced products through heavy taxation is an effective measure for governments to reduce the consumption of tobacco. Economic studies led by the World Bank found that for every 10 percent rise in tobacco prices, the consumption declines by approximately 4 percent in developed economies and 8 percent in middle and developing economies.
From the surveys, high tobacco prices have the greatest impact on people having low disposable income. With the increased taxation on tobacco products, the price of cigarettes increases and so is the overall consumption. The latest statistics show that an average smoker goes through 14 sticks of cigarette a day, which creates not only a menacing habit but also drains your pocket.
For instance, in the UK, the price per packet of cigarettes is currently rated as the highest in Europe. This is after the latest budget announcement that highlighted a rise of £0.88 for the most expensive pack from approximately £12.80 to approximately £13.60 per packet.
Under the new rates, rolling tobacco was also increased by 88 pence to £9.02. Also, duty rates associated with tobacco were raised by retail price index (RPI) plus 6 percent. Now, it’s said an average smoker in the UK consumes 11 cigarettes per day, that’s four packs of cigarettes and just over $50 a week. That’s quite expensive when the same math is compared with the cost of consuming vape juice.
cost of smoking vs vaping
Cost of smoking vs. vaping to the world’s economy
cost of smoking vs vaping
Despite the tremendous rise in popularity of vapes and healthier ways of nicotine consumption, the costs of smoking to the globe are still high with an estimate of 1.3 smokers. In the United Kingdom, the cost of smoking to the National Health Service (NHS) in 2015 was a whopping £2.6 billion. According to the latest study conducted in 2019, the figure dropped to £2.5 billion, which is still dangerously high as the world is rushing to be smoke-free by 2030.
With the recent Tobacco Control Plan, which intends to adopt safer ways of consuming tobacco, there is indeed much work to do. Since the cost of smoking continues to impact the public health and world economy – increased taxation of tobacco products leading to high revenue – no wonder they are recommending alternative methods of tobacco consumption including e-cigarettes.
Costs of Vaping Versus Smoking in different countries
Comparing the cost of vaping vs. smoking in these four developed countries: England, United States, Canada, and Australia, generally, the price of nicotine vaping products (NVPs) is higher compared to the price of comparable units of regular cigarette England, United States, and Canada while the cost of pre-filled cartridges is higher compared to the price of comparable units of regular cigarettes in only the United States and Canada.
Conversely, the price of vape juice is lower compared to the price of comparable units of regular cigarettes in all England, the United States, Canada, and Australia. In Australia, the price of all nicotine vaping products is consistently lower compared to the price of comparable units of regular cigarettes as the prices of combustible cigarettes are significantly high there.
For initial costs, the price of a rechargeable NVP with pre-filled cartridges is roughly three to five times higher than the price of a packet of cigarettes in all four countries. An average smoker who consumes 14 cigarettes a day would take an equivalent of approximately seven packs of cigarettes to purchase the device, implying it would take approximately nine to ten days to recover the costs of a rechargeable NVP device. moreover, the study shows that whereas the startup costs of rechargeable NVPs are relatively high, once the purchasing is done, extra costs of refilling the cartridges, charging dead and replacing dead batteries, replacing worn-out coils, and overall maintenance of the device are way more attractive than comparable units of combustible cigarettes.
Conclusion
The upfront prices for vapes are higher than the prices of regular cigarettes which sometimes creates a barrier to switching from smoking to vaping. Nevertheless, over time, the average lower prices of vape juices compared to comparable units of regular cigarettes makes transitioning to vaping products an attractive option to smoking.
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