Some startling statistics about unhealthy habits

Health Wellness

According to recent national surveys, Americans can hold their own when it comes to smoking and drinking.

And that ain’t bragging.

Personal finance website WalletHub last week released its report on The Real Cost of Smoking by state.

According to WalletHub, “economic and societal costs of smoking total more than $300 billion a year and are rising.”

So, to encourage the estimated 34.2 million tobacco users in the U.S. to kick the dangerous habit, WalletHub calculated the potential monetary losses — including the lifetime and annual costs of a cigarette pack per day, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs — brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.

Here are the financial costs of smoking (in Pennsylvania as an example), according to WalletHub:

• Out-of-pocket cost per smoker — $149,851,

• Financial-opportunity cost per smoker— $1,313,711.

• Health-care cost per smoker— $181,156.

• Income loss per smoker — $248,492.

• Other costs per smoker— $10,838.

• Total cost over lifetime per smoker— $1,904,049.

• Total cost per year per smoker — $37,334.

As a person who has never smoked cigarettes, I found these numbers to be mind-blowing. I just don’t understand why people smoke, but after seeing these numbers, I really don’t get how they can afford it.

Forget about all of the other related issues regarding smoking, the cost just seems to be prohibitive.

But, I guess, it’s not.

And I must tell you that I was raised in a home where both of my parents smoked for years. I didn’t get it then and I still don’t.

We live in a society where smoking has been banned just about everywhere public. Some employers won’t even hire people who smoke because of health risks. And I don’t think society looks at smokers they way it used to — let’s just say that the habit is not as tolerated as it once was.

Yet it continues.

In recent years, some smokers have also turned to vaping to get off of cigarettes.

Well, Harmony Healthcare IT recently released a vaping study. Harmony surveyed consumers who use vaping products about their habits and thoughts about recent vaping-related complications, illnesses and deaths.

Harmony found that most vapers still feel safe vaping, but that they plan on cutting back in the new year.

The Harmony study said, “Vaping has become a popular alternative to smoking. But health officials are sounding the alarm — earlier this month the FDA banned manufacturers from making and selling flavored cartridges in response to a wave of vaping-related illnesses and deaths in 2019.”

To learn more about the habits and sentiments surrounding vaping, Harmony Healthcare IT surveyed 1,800 users between the ages of 18 and 35. The study revealed young users are extremely attached to vaping, and half said they would find a way to obtain products even if they were banned.

Of the users, 41% vape nicotine, 30% vape cannabis, and 27% vape both. Other highlights include:

• 77% think vaping is healthier than cigarettes; 60% think it’s healthier than drinking.

• 56% are considering quitting due to recent illnesses and deaths linked to vaping.

• 71% believe vaping is unhealthy, but 79% still feel safe vaping.

• Nearly half say they plan to quit vaping as a New Year’s Resolution.

I’m not sure where this whole smoking thing will end up. I can only hope that people will become more concerned about their health and proceed accordingly.

And not to make matters worse, read on.

SafeHome.org last week released a study titled “The Drunkest States in America,” which analyzed the most recent data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FBI, among others.

“Drinking is a big part of American culture. Nearly 60% of Americans say they are regular drinkers and the average American consumes 2.3 gallons of alcohol annually. Not drinking responsibly can lead to accidents and health issues.”

Here are key findings in Pennsylvania:

• No. 17 in percentage of adults who drink, 60.73%.

• No. 16 in percentage of adults who binge-drink, 28.8%.

• No. 15 in change in percentage of adults who drink, 2008-2017, +2.9%.

• No. 26 in alcohol consumption per person, 2.34 gallons.

• No. 22 in per-capita craft breweries, 3.6 per 100,000.

I think I’ll just stop opening some of these emails and hope for the best.

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