Mon, Jul 06, 2009
Jorgensen Brooks Group Counselor Trades/Construction RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION Mechanical Komatsu Equipment Co Resident Field Mechanic Sales and Marketing Everready Glass Sales Reps Administrative & Professional Tucson Urban League CEO/President Finance and Accounting Charles E. Gillman Company Accounting Specialist Tucson RegionSmokers kick habit to ease money crunchARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.16.2008
With the price of gas, groceries and just about everything else going up, state officials last week suggested that quitting smoking is one way consumers can make their dollars stretch further in the difficult economy.
For Chrissy Smith, the $100 a week she's saving by not smoking couldn't come at a better time.
The corner gas station near her Maricopa County home is selling gas for $4.14 a gallon, she said. And since she quit smoking, not only is she saving the $6 per pack she was spending, but now she doesn't have to waste gas doing a late run for cigarettes.
"It just costs so darn much money," said the El Mirage homemaker. "I figure by quitting smoking, I can buy another extra gallon of gas."
So the 55-year-old quit cold turkey on Mother's Day, with the help of the state's Tucson-based smokers' hot line. She eats oranges and takes long walks when she gets cravings, and she's putting aside the money she's saved to buy a new dining table set.
Tobacco education and prevention experts can't say for sure if Smith is part of a larger trend, but they have noticed a downturn in tobacco tax revenues and an uptick in people seeking prevention services.
In April, for example, the state collected roughly $1.5 million in tobacco tax revenues, down from about $2 million in 2006. May's revenues were also down about $500,000.
Stephen Michael, the director of the Arizona Smokers' Helpline, said there are anecdotal indications that people are cutting back on smoking and finding creative ways to save money. Some are buying cigarettes in Las Vegas, on local reservations or online, he said.
But the economy is giving some the extra kick they need to quit. "We have a lot of people calling and saying, 'I just can't afford it anymore,' " he said. "Money is a big driver for people."
While his Helpline serves between 4,000 and 6,000 people a year on average, this year it is serving between 8,000 and 10,000. And that's without the benefit of a media campaign to promote it.
But Marcy Flanagan, director of the Pima County Tobacco Education and Prevention Program, said she isn't seeing an increase in people taking the free smoking-cessation classes her office offers.
Her teachers do stress the economic impact of smoking, she said, because it is one factor in people's decision to quit.
People who smoke two packs a day spend roughly $3,650 a year on their habit, she said, not counting additional costs of dry cleaning, dental care or health insurance.
● Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at 573-4118 or at rbodfield@azstarnet.com.
|
|
22 Comments on this story