The Nasty Habit of Smoking by Jeff Ogden of Find New Customers

The award-winning marketing expert, Jeff Ogden, President of Find New Customers,(follow Jeff on Twitter at @fearlesscomp, like over 6,400 people do.) is the son of a man who died of lung cancer from smoking when Jeff was only 16 years old.

My father was only 51 when he died, which means he was younger than I am now,

Jeff is a non-smoker who hates smoking, so here are some shocking facts on smoking in Florida: It is a new year and time to make some resolutions, like quitting smoking.

Read on to see my personal history with tobacco.

To say I am a non-smoker is an understatement. I hate smoking with a passion, so I did a Google search on the cost of smoking in my new home of Florida, which led to this great article by the American Lung Association on the real cost of smoking in this state, which costs the state of Florida almost $20 million dollars or $16.43 per pack, and not the $5.63 you pay at 7-11.

Read this shocking report and look at why so many people should stop smoking in the new year. Please also check out Tobacco Free Florida to get help.

Why don’t you make a New Year’s resolution to stop smoking today? Go to CVS which dropped cigarettes and pick up some things to help you stop smoking.

Florida Facts by the American Lung Association

For every dollar Florida spends on providing tobacco cessation treatments, it has an average potential return on investment of $1.24.

Smoking costs Florida Millions of Dollars Every Year:

	Annual Cost to State
Direct Health Care Expenditures	$7,280,523,491
Workplace Productivity Losses	$4,405,486,192
Premature Death	$7,940,936,572
Total Cost to State Economy	$19,626,946,256

Put a different way, the average retail price of a pack of cigarettes in Florida is $5.63. But the real price of a pack of cigarettes to society and to the state’s economy is $16.43 per pack. This is money that the state government and consumers could be spending in other places. As states look for ways to reduce costs, helping people quit using tobacco is an important solution.

We are looking forward to cranking up Find New Customers in 2015 with our new business partners at Likeable Local. “Social Marketing Software to make YOU more Likeable,”

I also have a bit of a history with smoking. as I was born and raised in Indiana and our cash crop was tobacco back then. My brothers and I used to work with my Grandfather and strip and hang to dry and then sell.

What do you think about the problem of smoking? We love comments (not SPAM please) and those who share on social media, especially Rebecca in Sweden who shares everything for me on Google Plus.