Cost of smoking and drinking calculator
A daily habit adds up. See what cigarettes, drinks or any other regular spend cost over a year and ten years, and what that money could have become.
How this is calculated
Smoking is cigarettes a day times 365, divided by the pack size, times the pack price.
Drinking is drinks a week times 52, times the price of a drink. Any other habit is the weekly amount times 52.
The saved instead figure puts the yearly total into savings in equal monthly amounts for ten years at the rate you enter.
Rates used · 2026/27
| Days a year | 365 |
| Weeks a year | 52 |
| Saved instead | monthly, compounded at your rate |
| Prices | whatever you pay |
Last checked July 2026. Source: HMRC and gov.uk.
Worked example
Ten cigarettes a day at £16 for a pack of 20 costs £2,920 a year, and ten drinks a week at £6 costs £3,120. Together that is £6,040 a year, or £60,400 over ten years. Saved instead at 4%, it would grow to about £74,116.
Common questions
How much does smoking cost a year?
It depends on how many you smoke and what you pay. Enter both above: ten a day at £16 a pack of 20 is about £2,900 a year.
Where can I get help to stop smoking?
The NHS offers free stop smoking services and support, which make quitting more likely to last.
Is the ten-year figure realistic?
It assumes prices stay the same. In practice tobacco and alcohol prices tend to rise, so the real cost is usually higher.
Why include a savings figure?
To show the opportunity cost: the same money put aside each month, with interest, over the same period.