Smokers could earn less as new study suggests cigarettes cause double financial blow
Smoking can impact your life in many ways. Whether it's puffing on the cigs or hitting the vape, smoking can cause a range of cancers, including mouth, throat, and bladder, while e-cigarettes is linked to lung disease and asthma.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in Scotland, resulting in over 8,000 deaths each year, according to Public Health Scotland. People who die from smoking in middle age also lose an average of 22 years of life.
Regular smokers have to find the money to finance their addiction, with a 20-pack of cigarettes costing £15.26 on average in January last year, according to ASH Scotland analysis. But research has suggested smoking could potentially harm your finances in another way.
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Diid you ever consider that going too heavy on the tobacco could lead you to earn less? A paper, published by Oxford University Press, found that smoking has a negative effect on earnings among younger workers - particularly those who are less educated.
This is potentially down to tobacco smoking's impact on a worker's productivity, especially in physically-demanding jobs like construction. It is well documented that smoking hinders your physical fitness and performance levels.
The stigma around smoking may also prompt bias and discrimination against people who smoke, the study said.
"Smoking in early adulthood is closely linked to long-term earnings and employment, with lower-educated individuals experiencing the most severe consequences," said the paper's lead author, Jutta Viinikainen. "These findings highlight the need for policies that address smoking's hidden economic costs and promote healthier behaviours."
The results came about after researchers analysed over 3,500 people aged 24-39 from urban and rural areas of Finland. Smoking was assessed using "pack-years" - this worked by multiplying the average daily cigarettes smoked by the person's age minus the age the person started smoking.
A person with a 10-pack-year history of smoking, for instance, has smoked one pack of cigarettes daily for 10 years. Researchers found that a one-unit increase in pack-years led to a 1.8 per cent decrease in earnings. This suggests that reducing smoking by the equivalent of five pack-years could lead to a 9 per cent earnings increase.
The study also found that a one-unit increase in pack-years led to a 0.5 per cent decrease in years employed. Significant earnings difference between smokers and non-smokers among younger workers were therefore clear to see, particularly among the lowest educated people. Interestingly, there was little distinction among older workers.
It comes after an expert unveiled the best and worst foods to help people quit smoking in 2025. Smokers may be desperate to know the best way to shake the habit - and a lot of it could come down to the food we eat.
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