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Looks like there's another reason to switch from cigarettes to vapes: the increase in cigarette prices ... again. Of course, the main reason to quit smoking is because of the negative impact that it has on your health, but comparing vape prices with cigarette prices could reveal another benefit of quitting smoking.
Smoking Health Risks
According to the NHS:
“Every year around 76,000 people in the UK die from smoking, with many more living debilitating smoking-related illnesses.” [1]
These smoke-related illnesses include cancer - and not just of the lungs. Then there's the coronary risks it has such as heart attacks, damage to blood vessels, and so on. It's clear that smoking is detrimental to your health, but that doesn't mean that quitting will be easy. But will increasing the cigarette prices make quitting any easier?
How Much is a Pack of Cigarettes?
Currently the price for a 20 pack of smokes is around £14.40 on average. [2]
Why did cigarette prices go up?
It's no secret that cigarette prices have been on the rise over the years. Within the past 10 years, the prices of cigarettes have increased by 85.8%, with them costing around £7.75 in 2013, and now £14.40 in 2023 (as of April).
But why has this increase in cigarette price taken place? Is it due to inflation and the fact that everything, not only cigarettes, seems to be going up in price? Perhaps, but the main reason appears to be that the UK government aims to achieve a smoke-free country by 2030. Increasing cigarette prices is one way that they're hoping to achieve this. [3]
So, with cigarette prices on the increase yet again, could this be yet another reason for smokers to switch to vaping?
Vaping versus Smoking
E-cigarettes can be life changing when it comes to benefiting the health of tobacco smokers. We already know that vapes can be used as a successful smoking cessation tool, and so this price hike could be just the nudge some smokers need to stop.
At first glance, you may not realise how much money can be saved from switching from smoking to vaping. However, when you compare the long-term costs of continually buying cigarettes compared with investing in vape kits and e-liquids, you could soon see just how much you can save.
According to statistics, 26% of people smoke 11-20 cigarettes a day. [4] With this in mind, switching to vaping can save you up to £3200 a year!
Vape Price – Making the switch
With all the money that you save from quitting smoking, you can invest in a good vape kit to help ensure you break the habit for good. There are many different types of vaping kits to switch to when quitting smoking. We'll be going through:
Disposable Vapes
To make that switch from smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes to vaping e-cigarettes, a good starting point would be using disposable vapes. They're easy to use: just buy and vape until it finishes. Once finished, dispose of responsibly by handing it in at any Totally Wicked store, and then purchase another. This makes the switch from smoking to vaping more seamless.
How much nicotine is in a Disposable vape?
When smoking cigarettes, your body actually only absorbs around 1-2mg, so when smoking 20 cigarettes a day, you could be inhaling 20-40mg of nicotine. [5] A typical disposable vape contains 40mg of nicotine. This makes them capable of providing nicotine equivalent to 20 cigarettes if the nicotine is efficiently absorbed by the person vaping. Just think about all that toxin-containing tobacco that could be switched out!
The cost of disposable vapes tends to be around £4.99 for your popular brands like Elf Bar and Lost Mary. However, with a Totally Wicked disposable vape subscription, you'd only be spending £3.75 per disposable (This subscription applies to Elf Bars and Lost Marys).
Compare this to the £14.40 average of a 20 pack of smokes, that's a £10.65 difference with the Disposable Vape Subscription, or £9.51 without. It's clear to see which is the more affordable and healthier option.
VLTZ Range
Try the VLTZ range for an upgrade from disposable vapes at lower costs. For example, with the VLTZ Flex Pro, the refillable and pre-filled pods don't just make things easier, they also work out cheaper.
A further option is the VLTZ X-Spin 4 in 1 Pod Kit which gives up to 4000 puffs from its four flavoured pods. Choose from four pod flavours and switch up the flavours however you like.
Price of Vapes Compared to the Price of Cigarettes
So, some quick maths: 100 cigarettes would cost about £72, but with the VLTZ re:fuel which is roughly equivalent to that amount of cigarettes, you only pay £10.99 for the complete kit which includes 10ml of e-liquid of your choice. That's £63.01 in real money saved! Not only are you making the healthier choice by quitting smoking, but you're also making a good financial one.
Starter Kits
For another more cost-effective plan to stop smoking tobacco for good, it may be best to invest in a vape kit like the Skope Air, or Tornado GTL. For this, the bulk of your money will be going to the kit itself initially. After that, the frequent outgoings will be spent on e-liquid and atomizer heads, but will be far less than the cost of smoking.
Let's take a closer look at the Tornado GTL:
This vape kit costs £29.99 - around the price of two packets of 20 cigarettes. But it'll last you longer than a 20 pack of ciggies; with the right maintenance, it'll last you 6 months to a year or more. You can vape the Tornado GTL for around 10-12 hours before needing to recharge. Simply plug it in, and it'll be fully charged within 30mins.
Once the atomizer coil reaches the end of its life (which can range between 1-2 weeks), it'll cost £6.99 for two replacement coils, or get it cheaper by buying multipacks - offers are always on! As for the e-liquid, a 10ml bottle only costs £4.99 - the same price as a disposable but containing 5 times as much e-liquid. The great thing about our vape kits is that they always come as a full set on purchase - so it comes with a 10ml bottle of Red Label e-liquid at no additional cost.
Extra Savings on Vapes
Then there's the Totally Wicked e-liquid subscription box to subscribe to if you like. With this, e-liquids come to £2.92 a bottle.
So, when we compare the price of smoking to the price of vaping with the Tornado GTL vape kit, vaping typically comes to around £700 a year - and that's without the subscription prices, or offers on multi-pack buys of atomizer heads. That’s a huge annual saving of well over £4.5k (on the basis of smoking 20 cigarettes a day at £14.40 per packet).
And as a bonus, when spending over £30 on a vape kit at Totally Wicked, you get an extra bottle of Red Label e-liquid free of charge. More opportunities to save!
Browse our site to find a good starter kit for you to make that switch from smoking to vaping. Save money, but more importantly, better your health by quitting smoking and starting vaping.
Can smoking be prevented by raising the price of cigarettes?
One thing that must be realised is that nicotine addiction cannot simply be switched off, and the rise in prices could lead to financial hardships for many smokers.
According to Gov.uk,
"Heavy smokers will face the highest burden from this new measure" [6] from changes to tobacco duty rates.
Nicotine is the addictive substance in tobacco cigarettes. Raising the price won't get rid of the craving that comes with nicotine. Have a look at how successful raising cigarette tax was to reduce smoking rates in the past.
Vaping however, can help tackle this nicotine addiction, as well as the other habits that come with smoking, and at a much affordable rate. It has been shown to help people that want to quit smoking [7], and even those that had no intention of quitting at all. [8]
E-liquids can come in different nicotine strengths. For example, the Red Label range comes in 6 different strengths starting from 0% to 1.8%, meaning many smokers can successfully wean themselves off nicotine altogether through switching to vaping. When first making the switch to e-cigarettes, it's important to get the right nicotine strength for you; too low and you'll be going through your vapes very quickly, too high and you'll likely end up with temporary side effects like dizziness. Speak to our customer service team to find the best nicotine strength e-liquid for you. Over time, you can slowly reduce this nicotine strength to help reduce your nicotine addiction.
The fact is, smoking can be prevented without having to raise prices: if more information was given about vaping - more correct information that is, more people may be likely to quit smoking and take up vaping instead.
So, which is cheaper: vape price, or cigarette price?
As you can see, vaping is not only far less harmful than smoking, but it can also work out cheaper. [9] To find out just how much you can save switching from smoking to vaping, use our Quit Smoking Calculator.
Sources:
[1] https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/what-are-the-health-risks-of-smoking/
[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czmp
[3] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cigarette-budget-increase-duty-b2301952.html
[4] https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997915/cigarettes-smoked-per-day-in-the-uk
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6705448/ , https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3880486/
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30699054/
[8] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2787453
[9] https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/using-e-cigarettes-to-stop-smoking/
*Price correct on 12/06/2023
**This is based on industry assumptions
