What ₹200 a day of cigarettes adds up to
Ten cigarettes a day at about ₹20 each is ₹73,000 a year. With prices rising 6% a year, that's about ₹26.85 lakh over 20 years. Invested instead at 12% a year, it could grow to about ₹89.62 lakh.
The money is only part of it: smoking harms your health and raises medical and insurance costs. If you want help quitting, India's free National Tobacco Quit Line is 1800-11-2356.
How to use it
- Pick a habit or choose “Something else” and type your own amount.
- Say how often you spend it: every day, every week or every month.
- See what it costs in a year, and what the same money could become if you invested it instead.
You get three answers, not one: a careful guess, a likely one and a hopeful one. Nobody knows future returns, so a range is more honest than a single big number.
How it works
We turn your spending into a monthly amount (₹300 a day is about ₹9,125 a month) and treat it like a monthly SIP. If the habit gets pricier every year, the monthly amount rises with it. Then we show what that money could have grown to, and what it would be worth in today's money once prices have risen.
The “real past” figure uses actual month-end prices of the oldest Nifty 50 index funds, averaged. Over the 10 years to 2026-10 they grew about 10.9% a year after their costs, and about 9.6% a year over 20 years. That's real market history, including the falls of 2008 and 2020, not a guess.
If you decide to quit
Stop spending ₹200 a day on cigarettes and ₹6,083 stays with you in the first month, and ₹73,000 in the first year. Put it into a monthly SIP instead and, at 12% a year, it could be about ₹5.58 lakh after 5 years and ₹89.62 lakh after 20.
The money is the smaller part. Tobacco harms your health, and stopping at any age helps. India's free National Tobacco Quit Line, 1800-11-2356, offers counselling in many languages.
WealthSum does not promote smoking, tobacco or alcohol in any way. This page only shows what the habit costs.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I spend on cigarettes in a year?
Multiply your daily spend by 365. Ten cigarettes a day at ₹20 each is ₹200 a day, or ₹73,000 a year. The calculator also adds yearly price rises.
Where can I get help to quit tobacco?
Call India’s free National Tobacco Quit Line on 1800-11-2356 for counselling in many languages, or talk to your doctor. Quitting cigarettes, bidis, gutkha or paan with tobacco helps your health at any age.
What growth rate should I use?
We use 12% a year as the likely case, with 8% and 15% as careful and hopeful guesses. Share-based funds in India have grown roughly 10 to 13% a year over long periods, but some years they fall sharply. Change it under “More options”.
What does “in today’s money” mean?
Prices rise every year, so ₹1 crore in 20 years will buy much less than ₹1 crore today. “In today’s money” shows what that future amount would feel like at today’s prices.
Where does the “real past” number come from?
From the actual month-end prices (NAVs) of the oldest Nifty 50 index funds, averaged. It shows what investing the same money every month would have given you, using real market history.