As a hypnotherapist specializing in a proprietary Smoke Cessation program, I field a lot of questions regarding “How much do you cost?” and “Why are you so expensive?” It amazes me how focused smokers can be on the cost of quitting, without considering the cost of smoking. Yesterday I received a call from a frustrated smoker. From her tone of voice and attitude I assume that she has unsuccessfully attempted to quit smoking in the past. Her first question was a challenging “How much do you charge?” After a few unsuccessful conversational attempts to explore her situation I gave her my price (about the true price of 10 packs of cigarettes as determined in the following text). I was greeted by several seconds of silence. Her next words were “why are you so expensive?”
I spoke for a few more moments, and then she thanked me and hung up. I shook my head in disbelief. Typical of our cautionary times, she declined to give me any information about her life, or her smoking habit. I assume she didn’t want to give me any ammunition to convince her to quit smoking. In case you are in the same situation, let me share a few details easily confirmed with a Google search of “cost of Smoking”.
An article on MSN Money (The High Cost of Smoking by Hilary Smith) observes that a 40 year old 1 pack a day smoker who quits and banks the money in a 401K at 9% will net $250K by age 70. In an article in MIT Press (The Price of Smoking by Sloan, Osterman, Conover, Taylor, and Picone) puts the lifetime cost of smoking for a 24 year old man at $220K. This makes the average total cost per pack over $40 when amortized lifetime medical costs are included. Combine those two financial facts and you have over half a million dollars earned by not smoking if the 24 year old quits and saves the money that would have been spent on cigarettes. The national cost of smoking in the US is pegged at around $72.7 billion. At over $40 a pack, my fee is less than 1 carton of cigarettes. That is, in my opinion, a steal!
At over $4 a pack purchase price, smoking is an exorbitantly expensive habit. At a true cost of over $40 a pack smoking is, for most, unconscionable. Some put the national cost of each cigarette at over $7 each. To put it mildly “Yikes!” My program, unlike most, is guaranteed, so there is virtually no risk to the client. Even without a guarantee, however, any attempt to quit is likely to be a great investment. The single greatest deterrent to smoking is having a heart attack. I suggest you take action today to avoid that occurrence. By the way, hypnosis is the second most effective way to quit.
This is another helpful mind management tip from Richard Lefever and the brain weavers at Quit! Check us out at http://www.Quitsmokingoregon.com