As 2009 approaches, many are considering their New Year’s resolutions. Losing those stubborn pounds, promising to spend more quality time with your partner, taking up a new hobby...Of course, this time of year also sees thousands of smokers swearing to give up the habit. There are lots of different ways to do this, from patches to prescription medication to good old-fashioned willpower. The biggest problem many of us experience is a lack of motivation to continue trying to quit.
However, one of the biggest provider’s of Children’s Trust Funds, the Children’s Mutual, has come up with a novel tactic to give the parents amongst us that extra push. They have looked at NHS figures on the money that is saved when smokers quit and are advising that for those that give up, by putting the money they would have spent on cigarettes into a trust fund for their children, parents can over 18 years see their children end up with £15,500. Considering the cost of university and the difficulty for young people in saving up enough for a deposit on a house, many parents are doubtless rather more tempted to give up than they might have been.
The NHS calculates that per month, a smoker will spend on average £40. While it seems quite a small sum, when you add it all up the Children’s Mutual have a made a convincing arguement for the long-term monetary benefits of quitting. Even for those of us without children, the prospect of having a nice lump sum after all those years of hard work would seem rather appealing. We all know the long term dangers of smoking – cancer, heart disease, emphysema – and now there is a corresponding long-term carrot to help us keep our resolutions.
In any case, whether you are making resolutions or not, or just trying to stick to those made last New Year’s Eve, we at The Online Clinic hope you enjoy the celebrations and wish you a very happy and successful 2009.