This is the second time I’ve seen one of these calculations, and they’ve always made sense to me:
according to the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and Environment, which found that while “a person of normal weight costs on average £210,000 over their lifetime”, a smoker clocks up just £165,000 and the obese run up an average £187,000 bill.
Note, this is all about costs to the state, nothing is mentioned about revenues to the state: of which a smoker will donate a healthy chunk every time they buy a packet.
So, instead of this anti-smoking witch hunt, we should encourage it!