Legal & General has highlighted how smoking can affect the cost of a life insurance premium in response to the latest NHS statistics on smoking rates.
According to NHS figures, there were approximately 1.6 million hospital admissions in England during 2011/12, among adults aged 35 and over with a primary diagnosis of a disease that can be caused by smoking.
The annual number of admissions has been rising steadily since 1996/97, when the number of such admissions was 1.1 million.
Duncan Finch, executive managing director at Legal & General Insurance said: "By not smoking, individuals can not only feel the health benefits, but also the financial benefits - and that's not just from money saved from not buying cigarettes.
"At just 25 years old, a smoker's monthly life insurance premium is £13.13 - compared to just £9.68 for a non-smoker. However, at 55 years old, the monthly life insurance premium for a smoker (£159.65) can be nearly 2.5 times more expensive than for a non-smoker (£64.42).
"This highlights the risk that smoking can place on your health and the savings that can be made from one lifestyle change and by acting sooner rather than later."
