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Quit Smoking Savings Calculator

Computes what a smoking habit costs per day, week, month and year from cigarettes per day and the pack price, projects 5- and 10-year savings (optionally invested at an annual return), the money already spent, and the life time regained at about 11 minutes per cigarette (Shaw, Mitchell & Dorling, BMJ 2000).

When to use

You want the money and cigarettes saved by quitting, the amount already spent over the years smoked, or the future value of investing the savings.

Do not use when: You need a smoking-exposure measure for medical screening (use pack-years) or cessation treatment advice; the 11-minute figure is a population average, not an individual prediction, and the result is informational only, not medical advice.

Formula

price_per_cigarette = price_per_pack / cigarettes_per_pack; daily_cost = cigarettes_per_day × price_per_cigarette; weekly_cost = daily_cost × 7; monthly_cost = daily_cost × 365 / 12; yearly_cost = daily_cost × 365; savings_5_years = 5 × yearly_cost; savings_10_years = 10 × yearly_cost; lifetime_spent = yearly_cost × years_smoked; invested_value_10_years = yearly_cost × ((1 + r)^10 − 1) / r with r = annual_return_percent / 100 (10 × yearly_cost when r = 0); time_regained_days_per_year = cigarettes_per_day × 365 × 11 / 1440

Costs use today's pack price; real savings grow with tobacco price increases and inflation, which are ignored. The 11 minutes per cigarette comes from Shaw, Mitchell and Dorling (BMJ 2000), who divided the average 6.5 years of life lost by male smokers by the average lifetime consumption; it is a statistical average, not an individual forecast. Informational only, not medical advice.

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Unit	Required	Description
`cigarettes_per_day`	number		yes	Average cigarettes smoked per day. Range: > 0, ≤ 200
`price_per_pack`	number		yes	Price of one pack in your currency. Range: > 0, ≤ 1000
`cigarettes_per_pack`	integer		default 20	Cigarettes in one pack (20 in most countries; 25-packs exist in Australia and Canada). Range: ≥ 1, ≤ 100
`years_smoked`	number	years	no	Optional: years smoked at this rate, to estimate the money already spent at today's price. Range: ≥ 0, ≤ 100
`annual_return_percent`	number	%	no	Optional: annual return if each year's savings were invested (contributed at the end of each year); reports the value after 10 years. Range: ≥ 0, ≤ 30

Outputs

Output	Type	Unit	Description
`daily_cost`	number		cigarettes_per_day × price per cigarette.
`weekly_cost`	number		daily_cost × 7.
`monthly_cost`	number		daily_cost × 365 / 12 (average month).
`yearly_cost`	number		daily_cost × 365.
`savings_5_years`	number		yearly_cost × 5, at today's price and without investment returns.
`savings_10_years`	number		yearly_cost × 10, at today's price and without investment returns.
`cigarettes_not_smoked_per_year`	number		cigarettes_per_day × 365.
`lifetime_spent`	number		yearly_cost × years_smoked at today's price (only when years_smoked is given).
`invested_value_10_years`	number		Future value of investing yearly_cost at the end of each year for 10 years at annual_return_percent (only when given).
`time_regained_days_per_year`	number	days	cigarettes_not_smoked_per_year × 11 minutes, in days (Shaw et al. 2000 average).
`time_regained_note`	string		Sentence with the 11-minutes-per-cigarette estimate and its source.

Example

20 a day, 30 per pack of 20, 10 years, 5 % return: {"cigarettes_per_day":20,"price_per_pack":30,"cigarettes_per_pack":20,"years_smoked":10,"annual_return_percent":5} → {"daily_cost":30,"weekly_cost":210,"monthly_cost":912.5,"yearly_cost":10950,"savings_5_years":54750,"savings_10_years":109500,"cigarettes_not_smoked_per_year":7300,"lifetime_spent":109500,"invested_value_10_years":137727.92,"time_regained_days_per_year":55.8}

10 a day, 12 per pack, 15 years, 7 % return: {"cigarettes_per_day":10,"price_per_pack":12,"years_smoked":15,"annual_return_percent":7} → {"daily_cost":6,"yearly_cost":2190,"cigarettes_not_smoked_per_year":3650,"lifetime_spent":32850,"invested_value_10_years":30258.02}

GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/quit-smoking-savings?cigarettes_per_day=20&price_per_pack=30&cigarettes_per_pack=20&years_smoked=10&annual_return_percent=5

Machine access

API: GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/quit-smoking-savings (query parameters) or POST with a JSON body {"inputs": {...}}
Schema: https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/quit-smoking-savings · Markdown: https://tttkmbb.com/health/quit-smoking-savings.md · JSON definition: https://tttkmbb.com/health/quit-smoking-savings.json
MCP: server https://tttkmbb.com/mcp, tool run_calculator with calculator_id="quit-smoking-savings"
OpenAPI operationId: calculate_quit_smoking_savings
Freshness: static. Authentication: none. Rate limit: fair use (see rate limits).

Sources

Shaw M, Mitchell R, Dorling D (2000) Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes, BMJ 320:53 (peer_reviewed)
CDC – Benefits of Quitting Smoking (government)

FAQ

Where does '11 minutes per cigarette' come from?

Shaw, Mitchell and Dorling (BMJ 2000;320:53) divided the 6.5 years of life lost on average by male smokers by an estimated lifetime consumption of about 311,000 cigarettes. It is a population average with wide individual variation.

Why is the 10-year figure not adjusted for price rises?

Tobacco prices and taxes rise unpredictably, so the calculator uses today's price; real savings are usually higher. Use inflation to adjust if you have an assumed rate.

How is the invested value computed?

Each year's savings are treated as one deposit at the end of the year, compounded annually for 10 years: yearly_cost × ((1 + r)^10 − 1) / r.

Related calculators

Pack-Years Calculator — Cumulative smoking exposure for lung-cancer screening eligibility.
Compound Interest Calculator — Grow the savings with monthly deposits at any compounding frequency.
Savings Goal Calculator — Redirect the monthly amount towards a savings target.