I've always had a pretty easy time stopping nicotine use and smoking (sorry, people I know how difficult it can be), but I did notice that I buy a lot less cigarettes when they cost a lot more. Here in Virginia they are still $5\pack and in MA they were easily $9+. I hated buying them there.
Cigarettes are very expensive these days. I remember when they only cost about $3.50. If there's any reason to quit smoking the price of cigarettes is one of them. You would think they wouldn't charge you so much to kill yourself. I guess with all the new chemicals they put in the cigarettes they figure people won't be around that long, so they might as well make as much money of them as than can sooner.
Well, the primary reason they are getting more expensive is that taxing has become a tactic for state governments to get people to quit. The thing about it that many do not realize is that smokers actually cause less expense to healthcare systems because they die younger, and end-of-life care is the most expensive medical care there is. Smoking is, unfortunately, good for healthcare costs. (Feel free to refute me on this, but I have had it explained to me personally by a very bright economist).
It has definitely helped me. More in the 'staying quit' area though. It is really SO good to have all of that extra money. I earn a good salary but I have some really huge bills to pay so there is not a lot left over. The money I was previously spending on cigarettes is now treat money. It's amazing how quickly it adds up too. It's definitely an incentive to not return to the addiction. There was talk in my country a few years ago about aiming to eventually raise the price of a 20-pack to $100. That was dismissed but the prices still rise every six months or so. It's about $1 a cigarette these days.
Everyone would like to save some money that they've been spending on cigarettes so to answer your question, yes it does help many people to quit as it gives them another reason to quit.
High prices don't stop smokers from buying cigarettes. I once lived in a place where the price of cigarettes was doubled to curb the vice. Did it stop the smokers? Most didn't cut back on the cigarettes they smoked. So raising the prices didn't help. I'm certain that since you can buy anything online these days, smokers can buy lower-priced relatively easily.
Its a good tactic by the government. That way they get more moula and that way smokers start considering how much money they are blowing off on cigarettes. Its a big part in considering to quit or not.
It depends on the level of addiction, I guess. At least it is a consideration. A lot of people are switching to e-cigs which I have seen to be very helpful for some people.
People where I live will go without cars or buy clothes from Goodwill in order to still afford their cigarettes. It's really annoying. Then there's someone like my dad who actually gets on his high horse about still buying cigarettes. Apparently he's saving us from higher taxes by paying so much money for his smokes. Yeeeeaaaaaah.
I don't know about everyone else, but in my case the answer is no. I may not have money for many things, but for cigarettes I always have something reserved. This is awful because not even this has helped me quit. I think that maybe they thought the increased prices would make people stop smoking but instead what they're doing is making the tobacco companies richer than they already are.
When I quit smoking cigarettes were $2.00 a pack. And that was one of the motivating factors at the time.
Here in the UK, not only are they hiking the prices up but some cigarettes now come in a pack of 19 rather than 20. You are paying more for less cigarettes! Admittedly, I'm still hooked on nicotine via my e-cig but price was the major motivation factor in me quitting tobacco.
Well, you have to think about the company and how they view things. If people weren't willing to pay the increased price then they wouldn't have increased the price in the first place, but one of their strategies is to slowly raise how much people pay for cigarettes. That way they let people adapt to the new prices.
I think that this might make some smokers treat cigs as a type of luxury simply because of how expensive it's getting. Price might factor in whether or not some people quit but not all.
I really don't think the price will help people quit. Well, maybe for some people, but many smokers don't care about price and only care about the immediate pleasure. Most smokers need a better education to really learn about what kind of things cigarettes do in your body. Sure, prices and gory packs will have some effect, but ultimately they're useless.
The price was one of the main factors in my quitting cigarettes. At first I shifted to a cheaper brand then shifted to vaping. I made my own juice. Then quit it all together.
Honestly, I never cared about money when I was a smoker. I don't even care so much about it now, as I have a pretty good income. But some people do, and that's what cigarette smugglers are for! When I was young I used to buy from them a lot, as we were a poor family. The smokers will always have their own ways of dealing with things, trust me.
I don't think price helps at all. A habit is a habit, and you'll always find the money to feed it. Some people would rather have a drink, smoke a joint or do some blow instead of having lunch.