Recent calculations showing that Australian smokers spend
about $A300,000 ($NZ365,365) in their lifetime and figures
from the UK showing British smokers spend an average of
102,895 £($NZ260,869) on cigarettes in their lifetime is a
timely reminder for smokers here.
The typical Kiwi smoker
will puff away on 17 cigarettes a day - a total of 6188 a
year or 386,750 over an adult lifetime.
Based on the
average cost of $11 for a packet of 20 this equates to $66 a
week or $3421 a year. Smokers can calculate their own
spending at on The Quit Group's website using an online quit
calculator.
ASH Director, Ben Youdan says smokers tend to
vastly underestimate how much they spend on their
addiction.
"Instead of spending over three grand on
tobacco the money could instead be put towards an overseas
holiday or flat screen TV." says. Mr
Youdan.
If you're using Scoop for work, your organisation needs to pay a small license fee with Scoop Pro. We think that's fair, because your organisation is benefiting from using our news resources. In return, we'll also give your team access to pro news tools and keep Scoop free for personal use, because public access to news is important!
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else... More
Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More
Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More
Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More
Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More