In addition to being an expensive habit, smoking cigarettes is unhealthy and has other high costs, such as for medical care and life insurance.

Here are some of the high costs of smoking cigarettes:

Buying cigarettes

A pack of cigarettes costs $5 to $15 per pack, depending on what state you live in. A pack a day at $10 per adds up to $3,650 per year.

Work productivity while smoking cigarettes

Ohio State University researchers found that smokers average five breaks per workday, resulting in less productivity at work than nonsmokers. Smokers also take 2.5 more sick days per year than nonsmokers.

That lost productivity and extra health care costs for smokers costs employers $5,816 more per year, the researchers found.

Health care

Health insurers can charge smokers 50 percent more than nonsmokers under the Affordable Care Act. Why the higher cost? Because people who smoke cigarettes spend more time in the hospital and will likely die sooner than nonsmokers.

Dental care also increases for people who smoke cigarettes, with an increased risk of gum disease, among other ailments.

Higher insurance costs

Because smoking causes people to die younger, they’re more of a risk for a life insurance company and their premiums will cost more. People who smoke cigarettes They die 10 years earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

BestLifeQuote.com reports that a 45-year-old man who smokes cigarettes will around $300 per month for a 20-year term life insurance policy of $500,000. A nonsmoker would pay about $80 per month for the same policy.

Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance is 20 percent higher for smokers, mainly because they’re a bigger risk for starting a house fire. Auto insurance rates can be 5 percent higher for smokers.

The High Costs of Smoking Cigarettes is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.