It has been estimated that smokers who have kicked the habit for good, following the implementation of the UK-wide ban in July 2007, may have saved themselves up to £8,500 since then.
According to figures calculated by the comparison website moneysupermarket.com, since the ban, the average smoker has saved themselves £2,740 on cigarettes . Further, a 30-year-old male smoker would have to pay £44.60 a month for critical illness cover, while his non-smoking counterpart would pay £27.70, which is a saving of 42 per cent.
Head of protection for moneysupermarket.com Emma Walker said: "In order to be classed as a non-smoker and therefore qualify for life insurance premium savings, insurers insist on smokers having packed in smoking for a full year."
This year's budget saw a rise of two per cent on alcohol and cigarettes, a move David Cameron said would "hit every drinker in every pub ".




