Former smokers save over four hundred thousand dollars

On Saturday 1 February members of Quitline’s blogging community took part in a ‘Quit Stats Count-up’ where they posted their quitting statistics to Quitline’s blog. Over 100 former smokers posted details of how many days they had been smokefree, the number of cigarettes or amount of loose tobacco they had not smoked and the money they had saved as a result. The Quit Stats count-up was initiated by blogger ‘Worker’ and the stats were added up by fellow blogger ‘PokuruGirl’.

Collectively the participants saved $410,199 as a result of not smoking 609,135 cigarettes and 75,204 grams of tobacco. “Laid end to end, these smokes would be 4,263,945 centimeters, or 42.63 kilometers long. Which is pretty much a marathon of smokes!” commented ‘PokuruGirl’.

Participants ranged from those who had quit smoking this New Year to those who had been smokefree for several years.

“The cost of tobacco is one of the main reasons why people decide to quit,” says Quitline’s Chief Executive, Paula Snowden. She continues: “The Quit Stats calculator tool on Quitline’s website, where you can enter the date you quit smoking and see how much money you’ve saved, is a huge motivational tool. You can also share these statistics on Quitline’s blog and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Smoking is expensive and the savings quickly add up to the cost of a grocery shop, a new television or even a family holiday.”

Quitline’s blog brings together thousands of people who are quitting smoking and want to share information and support each other. Research shows that this support when used in combination with Quitline’s phone support greatly increases a person’s chances of successfully quitting.

ENDS

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