Cigarettes
The average weekly spend on cigarettes is pretty low according to the many banks' stats on student expenditure: apparently students only smoke £1.70 of their budget each week on the nic sticks but this survey - and the others like it - are probably looking more at the students who decide a cigarette or two is a good idea after a boozy night out. If you have a twenty-a-day habit - expect to fork out £5.50 on a pack a day, which is £38.50 a week on bad breath, smoky hair and a hacking cough. That’s more than £170 a month or £2,000 a year.
When you consider that the basic maintenance loan is £2,835, spending most of that on cigarettes seems insane. You might as well get the cash, put it in a pipe and smoke it.
Give up the cancer sticks and you can free up that £38.50 for something healthy and fun, like windsurfing, or Swedish massage.
Loads of students smoke just because it’s sociable, but why not get together with a mate who smokes too and resolve to pack it in together?
No more student loan up in smoke. You’ll feel better, look better, smell better and save money. What more incentive do you need?
Try Quitline (http://www.quit.org.uk or 0800 002200) or the NHS’s site (www.givingupsmoking.co.uk) for more advice and, hopefully, inspiration.
Last updated on: 22 September 2008