The Cost of Cigarettes vs Heated Tobacco

All of the health concerns aside, one of the other main issues that smokers struggle with on a daily basis is the rising cost of tobacco products all over the world. The hikes in prices are a part of public health initiatives by many national governments, with most countries increasing the prices of conventional tobacco products, as well as less harmful alternatives.

On the one hand, it is a commendable effort to discourage young people from picking up a nicotine habit. On the other hand, it prevents those who already smoke cigarettes from finding a more affordable, healthier alternative. While there are several markets where e-liquid-based devices or heated tobacco products are not subject to the same tax as combusted cigarettes, that is not the case in the majority of nations.

Consider this article to be a resource in helping you assess and compare the cost of traditional tobacco products, heated tobacco, and other alternatives. Whether you’re a smoker who wants to avoid the long-term health effects of your habit or you’re purely motivated by financial reasons, you’ll find the answers you’re looking for below.

What Are Heated Tobacco Products?

Before diving deeper into the economics of quitting smoking and transitioning to a better alternative, we need to clearly define what heated tobacco products are, how they work, and how they’re different from other popular cigarette alternatives that are available out there.

While they use the exact same kind of tobacco as regular cigarettes, these alternatives heat, not burn the plant, releasing far less harmful chemicals into your lungs and the atmosphere. 

In terms of the experience of puffing on a heated tobacco device, the feeling is as close as it can get to smoking actual cigarettes, with the same ritual of discarding your finished “tobacco sticks” into an ashtray.

As opposed to regular cigarettes, heated tobacco products also do away with the overwhelming smell that stays on your clothes for hours on end. The tobacco industry has recently pivoted heavily in favor of these new products, with widespread marketing and sales efforts aimed at raising the adoption rates of these devices.

Heated Tobacco vs Electronic Cigarettes (Vapes)

At first glance, heated tobacco devices can heavily resemble electronic cigarettes, which hit the market a good couple of years prior to the introduction of this new, non-combustible way of smoking. There are quite a few fundamental differences, though.

First of all, e-cigarettes do not use any plant matter at any stage of the smoking process. Instead, they rely on liquids, which are then electronically heated up, creating vapor that users inhale into their lungs. The nicotine content in e-cigarettes is also heavily modifiable, allowing smokers to be in charge of exactly how much nicotine they want to take in. While beneficial for adult users, this feature of electronic cigarettes, or vapes, as they are commonly known, has been heavily criticized for developing nicotine addiction in many children and young adults who would otherwise never have thought of smoking cigarettes.

Secondly, vapes offer a wide variety of flavors that heated tobacco products simply cannot match due to being tied down by tobacco. There are heated alternatives capable of providing you with a flavorful experience, but we’ll talk more about that later on in this article. For now, you should know that it is not uncommon to find various flavors of e-cigarettes, such as pineapple, blueberry, or even creme brulee, whereas most heated tobacco products range from classic tobacco flavors to menthol options.

Price Comparison

In many countries, heated tobacco, regular cigarettes, and vapes are all substantial expenses for daily smokers. With that said, there are some places in the world (Asia in particular) where cigarettes are dirt-cheap, and a pack can be purchased for as little as one dollar. We will not be taking these places into account in our price comparison.

For the purposes of this article, we will focus on the average prices of heated tobacco products, cigarettes, and e-cigarettes in the United Kingdom.

Heated Tobacco

When thinking of switching to heated tobacco, you need to consider the initial price, which entails the purchase of a device capable of heating up the plant matter. In the UK, a starter kit of a popular heated tobacco brand will cost you £39 ($47.87). At that price, you’ll also get two packs of heated tobacco sticks of your choice alongside the device. Packs containing twenty tobacco sticks of that same brand cost £4.99 ($6.12) per packet. The price stays the same regardless of flavor or type of tobacco used.

Cigarettes

As of October 2022, a pack of twenty cigarettes will cost you £12.72 ($15.61) on average (via the Office for National Statistics). Due to high inflation and the continuous push for more tobacco control regulation, this average price is subject to change as early as January 2023, so stay on the lookout for an increase in the cost of traditional tobacco products. Keep in mind that the price mentioned above is merely an average and varies depending on the brand of cigarettes you choose to go for. However, don’t expect it to be lower than £10 ($12.27).

Vapes

This is where things get tricky. Due to the wide variety of devices available on the market, it is quite difficult to estimate the average price of vapes in the UK. Let’s say you’re looking to buy a sturdy, long-lasting device. A starter kit with a device and a sample of an e-liquid of your choice will cost you anywhere from £20-60 ($24.50-73.50). After getting the device, you’ll still need to buy e-liquids on a regular basis, and your expenses will amount to roughly £5 ($6.12) per week of consistent usage.

Final Verdict

A pack-a-day smoker of regular cigarettes spends an average of £4,630 ($5671) per year on their habit. Compare that to the £1820($2216) spent by the heated tobacco user or £480 ($588) by the e-cigarette smoker, and it becomes clear that regular cigarettes are a much bigger burden on your budget than their alternatives. Heated tobacco products and even fancy vapes will save you thousands of pounds per year.

Non-Tobacco Alternatives Exist – Try NEAFS!

There is another tobacco-free way of getting the same experience as with regular smoke or a heated tobacco product: the NEAFS sticks that contain only top-shelf tea leaves. You can choose between nicotine and nicotine-free varieties. Since our sticks are not tobacco products, they come in a wide variety of flavors, including blueberry, strawberry, mojito, or coffee! At £3.99 ($4.86) per pack of 20 sticks, the cost of our heated tobacco alternative comes out to be much less than the products containing tobacco. Smoking NEAFS helps you retain the same sensations, all the while keeping more money in your wallet at the end of the day!