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Find Out How Much You Can Save By Swapping Smoking For Vaping

Our cost of smoking calculator lets you see how much you could save by switching to e-cigarettes

Is vaping cheaper than smoking? That’s a question we get asked a lot at Electric Tobacconist. The short answer is yes; a large number of smokers can save by switching to e-cigarettes. The longer answer is also yes, but it depends on a number of factors including the amount you pay for cigarettes, the number of cigarettes you smoke each day and the kind of vaping you’d like to do. If that all sounds a bit complicated, you can relax! We’ve built an easy to use cost-of-vaping calculator which shows you exactly how much money you can save by swapping to e-cigarettes.

The cost of smoking calculator

This calculator works by calculating how much you spend on cigarettes each year. It then works out how it would cost you to vape instead. By working out the difference, we can see how much you can save by swapping to e-cigarettes.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s say you smoke 140 cigarettes per week and pay £10 per pack of twenty. That works out to £3,640 per year. In contrast, a budget vaping setup could cost as little as £169.80 per year. That amount is enough for one box mod, seventy-three bottles of eliquid, seventeen coils and four replacement batteries — more than enough for a twenty-a-day smoker.

Even if you went for a midrange setup and spent four times as much on vaping (£679.20), that’s still a saving of £2,960.80 every year.

How much does smoking cost on average?

According to ASH, the average smoker in the UK smokes eleven cigarettes per day at a cost of £1,800 per year. They also say that a 20-a-day premium-brand smoker will spend about £3,600 per year on cigarettes. Research from the University of Nottingham shows that on average, smokers take an additional 2.7 days off sick each year compared to non-smokers. This can mean a reduced pay package for self-employed or freelance smokers.

How much does vaping cost on average?

So we’ve seen that over the course of a year smoking becomes a very expensive habit. But how does vaping compare? First-time vapers usually prefer disposable cigarettes that mimic the appearance and effect of traditional cigarettes. We recommend something from our disposable e-cigarette range. An e-cigarette like the Stig Pods Cubano is a good choice for new users. It contains 20 mg of nicotine, which is enough for a moderate smoker. It costs £16.99 for a three pack and each pod is supposed to be equivalent to twenty cigarettes. That means you’ll be spending £5.66 per day on vaping, as opposed to the £10 a day you would’ve been spending on cigarettes. That quickly adds up to a saving of £1,525 per year.

Box mods are even better… and even cheaper

But in most cases, we wouldn’t suggest that you stick with a disposable e-cig for an entire year. Once you’re accustomed to e-cigarettes, we recommend you try a more advanced product, such a box mod. Box mods aren’t disposable, instead, you fill them up with e-liquid when they run dry. Not only that, but the experience of vaping is much more enjoyable with a box mod and you can choose from a range of different flavours. While box mods can easily cost £60 or more, you can get a fully functional box mod like the SMOK Priv V8 for under £30. You’ll also have to buy a 18650 battery for £8.99, taking your initial spend up to £38.98. Once you’ve paid that, you’ll also need some e-liquid. The amount of e-liquid that you’ll need varies massively depending on what hardware you have and how much you vape, but we find most twelve-cigarettes-a-day smokers will get through 10ml of e-liquid in a week. Value e-liquid costs as little as £1 per 10 ml, whereas premium e-liquid can cost as much as £19.99 per bottle. Seventy-three 10 ml bottles of e-liquid should cover most smokers for an entire year, and if you take the economical option that adds up to just £73. Lastly, you’ll need to replace your coil every three weeks or so. That means you’ll need roughly seventeen coils at a cost of about £33.83.

How much does vaping cost each year?

Our budget box mod setup includes: - One box mod (£29.99) - Four batteries (£35) - Seventy-three bottles of e-liquid (£73) - Seventeen coils (£33) That adds up to a total spend of roughly £170 per year. That’s a lot cheaper than the £3,600 you would be spending on cigarettes! Even if you quadruple the spend to get a better box mod and some premium eliquids, you still have a long way to go before vaping is even half as pricey as smoking.

Ready to swap smoking for vaping? Our first-time buyer’s advice section contains everything you need to get started.

By Lenny