The True Cost of Smoking vs Vaping - Breaking Down the Savings

Both figurately and literally - the cost of smoking is great.

26 April 2023 | Hannah Rubery

If you're trying to quit smoking, you may have heard of vaping as an alternative. But how does it really stack up against cigarettes? Is it really worth making the switch? This article will break down the cost comparison between smoking and vaping so that you can see for yourself just how much money you could be saving by making the switch.

The Cost of Smoking: Figuratively

The cost of smoking is both figurative and literal. On a health level, smoking can lead to all kinds of issues, from increased risks of cancer, heart disease and stroke to bronchitis, emphysema, COPD and more. In the UK alone over 76,000 people die each year due to smoking-related illnesses - avoidable deaths.

Surprisingly to some, the nicotine in cigarettes is the least harmful to your health. There are thousands of chemicals and carcinogens present in cigarette smoke. Of the more than 7,000 chemicals at least 250 are known to be harmful, which include the likes of; hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia. When these enter your body you can suffer serious long-term health consequences. Not only this but cigarettes produce tar, a black, sticky substance that coats your lungs and airways when you smoke. This can cause a number of respiratory illnesses.

The financial costs of smoking also add up: the average smoker in the UK spends almost £4,000 a year on cigarettes, and that's with only 15 cigarettes a day; the average for the UK. Heavy smokers (20 or more cigarettes a day) are likely to spend an extra £1000 on top of that!

Vaping vs Smoking: What are the Benefits?

Vaping offers a less harmful, cost-effective alternative to smoking. The main advantage is that e-cigarettes do not contain many of the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. Vaping also does not produce tar, or smoke. Instead, an aerosol is produced that contains fewer toxins than cigarette smoke, and therefore has a much lower risk of causing serious health problems.

Another significant benefit of vaping is the cost savings compared to smoking. E-cigarette devices are not cheap; but the cost of replacement parts, E-Liquid, and other accessories are much lower than buying a pack of cigarettes.

Vaping also opens up the possibility to lower your nicotine intake, if you are trying to quit the habit. There is a range of nicotine levels in E-Liquid, from 0mg (nicotine-free) to 20mg (ideal for heavy smokers making the switch). This means that you can reduce your nicotine intake over time, and eventually become nicotine-free.

Calculating the Savings: How Much Can You Really Save by Vaping?

The savings you can make by switching to vaping depend on what kind of smoker you are. For example, if you smoke 10 cigarettes a day, you might be spending around £2,500 a year on cigarettes. However, if you’re a heavy smoker (20 or more cigarettes a day) then your annual cigarette spend could be more like £5,000!

Making the switch to vaping can save you a lot of money: even with the cost of the device and E-Liquids, you can save yourself thousands of pounds each year.

The average vaping starter kit costs around £30, depending on what you're looking for it can be even cheaper. Pod kits are a great device for newcomers to vaping as they're easy to maintain, cheaper than some of the more advanced kits (around £20) and come either with pre-filled, replaceable pods, or re-fillable pods.

For example, if you pick up a Vaporesso Xros Nano device for around £25, these already come with 2 pods (one which you may prefer over the other as they offer different resistances) that can be filled with E-Liquid of your choice.

Each pod comes with a pre-built coil so you don't need to worry about learning to maintain coils! Simply replace the pod when the coil is worn out - usually, they last 3-5 days depending on how much you vape and what you vape. If you vape Nicotine Salts then it's probably going to be more likely 3 days! So you might want to pick up a pack of 4 replacement pods for £10 also.

These pods can hold 2ml of vape juice which is available in 10ml bottles - depending on your chosen strength and how much you vape you may want anything from 1-2 bottles a week - that's about £8 in total.

So in total, a heavy smoker who on average would spend around £420 a month on cigarettes would spend around £60 a month on vaping - that's around £20-30 on pods and £32 on E-Liquid, not including the one-off £25 spend for the device. That's over 80% savings!

For those who smoke less and are likely then to vape less, the savings will be just as great or likely better. There are even options for saving more money while vaping by purchasing shortfills, large bottles of E-Liquid that are nicotine free but can have nicotine added into. Although this option is more intended for light smokers or those looking to lower their nicotine intake as strengths rarely go over 5mg per ml. But these bottles contain 60-120ml of vape juice - you can see where you start to make even more savings.

Make the change to vaping today to see the costs for yourself

Overall, switching to vaping is an excellent way to save money compared to smoking. You can still get all the benefits of nicotine without the harmful side effects or expense of cigarettes. With an initial start-up cost, you can quickly see a return on investment and save thousands of pounds per year due to the lower cost of E-Cigarettes and their associated costs. Even if you are only a light smoker, the difference in cost can be staggering.

Save yourself further harm, and some money while you're at it, and make the switch to vaping today.