Holy Smokes -- Reasons Not To Smoke Stack Up

We were already working on a story on the relationship between smoking and well-being when we realized the American Cancer Society marks its 34th annual Great American Smokeout on Thursday. On its Web site, the ACS lists more than a few good reasons to quit smoking -- all of them having to do with benefits for physical health.

Our story today adds to that list of reasons, revealing how much better nonsmokers fare than smokers in terms of overall well-being beyond just physical health. We cut the data by income to make sure income wasn't the driving factor in what are truly remarkable findings.

Our story and analysis by Brett Pelham reveals that, across all income brackets, the difference in "net thriving" -- which is the percentage who are classified as "thriving" minus the percentage who are "suffering" -- is consistent and substantial. Not only do nonsmokers do better across the board, Pelham finds that "for those making less than $60,000 per year, not smoking appears to be the equivalent of moving up one income category in evaluative well-being. What's more, nonsmokers making between $60,000 and $90,000 per year have higher well-being than smokers in the top income bracket."


The story goes on to reveal that nonsmokers have higher emotional health and are less likely to have been diagnosed with depression than smokers. Smokers also fare worse than nonsmokers on our Basic Access Sub-Index, which includes questions about having enough money for food, shelter, healthcare, suggesting that in many cases the money spent on smoking would be better spent elsewhere.

Of course, it remains possible that people who choose to smoke are dealing with other things that push them lower on these measures. But even with income off the table, it is clear that nonsmokers are better off, physically and emotionally, than those who light up.