NJ is one of the priciest states to smoke
When I started smoking at seventeen, I’d walk into the local pharmacy, hand the cashier a dollar, and get a quarter back for my seventy-five cent a pack of cigarettes.
Seventy-five cents.
Not gonna lie, it makes me feel old. By the time I finally quit about fifteen years ago, I think I was paying around 7 or 8 bucks a pack and even that felt outrageous.
Now I look at what smokers are paying in 2025 and all I can say is thank God I stopped when I did.
The skyrocketing cost of cigarettes in New Jersey
The new Cost of Smoking report from iSelect.com shows New Jersey smokers are dropping an average of $11.41 per pack. That comes out to $3,123 a year per person. I look at that number and my jaw hits the floor.
Over three grand a year. That is a mortgage payment!.
That is a family vacation!
That is five months of groceries!
How NJ compares to the rest of the country
New Jersey ranks in the top fifteen most expensive states to be a smoker. The tiny bit of good news is that we are nowhere near New York.
New York is number one, paying $14.55 a pack. That comes out to almost four thousand dollars a year.
No wonder New Yorkers are stressed, they can’t afford to breathe, even poorly.
Compared to the cheaper states, we are practically burning money in the backyard. Missouri and North Carolina smokers pay around eight bucks a pack and spend about two thousand a year. Still expensive, but not Jersey expensive.
Why quitting now saves more than just your health
All of this makes me extra grateful that I don’t smoke anymore. The health stuff is obvious, but wow, the money.
When you add up what we spend on everything in this state, cigarettes might be the one thing we can actually choose to skip.
Clearly a lot of people are catching on. New Jersey’s smoking rate dropped again this year.
If you still smoke, I feel for you. It’s a brutal habit to break. But if price alone ever pushes you over the edge, you’re not crazy, the numbers are insane.
If you ever needed another reason to quit, congratulations, You now have 3,123 of them.
New Jersey’s 'Doughnut Holes' Reveal Quirky Town Boundaries
Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt
Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.
