COUGHING UP SOME DOUGH

Bay State smokers burn through cash at near national high

Smokers in the Bay State burn an average of $43,000 every year to support their habit — more money than in nearly any other region in the U.S., according to a new study on the costs of tobacco addiction.

“I think it’s a real eyeopener for smokers nationwide, but especially for smokers in Massachusetts, where these costs are really skyrocketing,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst for D.C.-based finance website WalletHub. “If people aren’t quitting for their health, maybe they can be motivated to do it for their wallet.”

Smoking is a $300 billion drain on the country each year and the average Massachusetts resident who is hooked will lose about $2.2 million over the course of a lifetime, according to the study.

The only other state with higher smokingrelated costs is New York.

On top of the basic price of cigarettes, researchers factored in average health care costs, associated income losses and “financial opportunity cost” — the profits that could have been made if the money spent to fuel the habit had been invested elsewhere.

“There are certain hidden costs,” Gonzalez said. “Things like health costs for smokers, including premiums, and missing work for smokinginduced problems.”

Of course, the cost of cigarettes themselves — an average of about $10 per pack for brands like Marlboro and Camel in the Bay State — is enough to set anyone back all by itself. Out-of-pocket costs for each smoker over a lifetime in Massachusetts total about $172,189.

According to the study, cigarettes typically cost $3 more here than the national average, and Massachusetts has the fourth-highest cigarette taxes in the country at $4.05 per pack.

A number of tobaccoinduced health issues aside from lung disease can lead to mounting medical bills, according to Liz Barnhart, family nurse practitioner at Tufts Medical Center.

Peripheral vascular disease, for example, leads to debilitating leg pain and poor lower body movement.

“You might not get lung cancer, but you will get changes you won’t like as you get older,” Barnhart said.

But, she said, knowing the financial costs of smoking likely won’t lead to lifestyle changes. She often talks to patients about the monetary strain of cigarettes, and will point out that it amounts to as much as a car payment.

And though their mouths drop open in disbelief, it is not powerful enough to overcome the pull of addiction.

“For the average person, I don’t think it’s a good motivator,” she said.

Smoking accounts for more than 480,000 deaths in the United States each year, or 1 in 5, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is the primary cause of preventable disease.

About 15 out of 100 residents 18 and older are addicted.