As I have written before, there is really no consumer product that is worse to lose your money on than tobacco. Why? Well, unlike some other consumer products, this product not only takes your money and deposits it directly into the hands of the ruthless tobacco industry, but it also maims or kills you! Talk about the antithesis of a Fruitfulista ideal. Tobacco is the only legal product that kills the user even when used as intended by the manufacturer. There is no way to use tobacco in moderation; by definition its use is abuse. Over 1200 Americans die DAILY from the effects of tobacco use. But I don’t have to remind you of this, most people know this by now.
Crush Cigarettes, Don’t Let Them Crush YOU
Thankfully, most people also have taken this knowledge and used it to avoid or quit tobacco. There are still some people who are hooked into the addiction. Because the majority (90%) of adults who currently use tobacco started when they were under 18 years old, they did not even have the wherewith-all to understand the consequences of a youth behavior on their adult lives. This sounds eerily similar to the credit card companies’ tactics.
If the Fruitfulista way is to do things once or only a few times to bring in freedom, independence, creativity and more passive income, using tobacco (or any product that you are hooked on) is the exact opposite. You have subscribed to a product that causes your health to degrade, your appearance to suffer, and your money to disappear. It costs a pack a day smoker on average about $1800-2000/year for this painful subscription not including doctors appointments and missed work from being ill. Not to mention that the probability of using tobacco is MUCH higher among people in poverty than the wealthy.
To put it another way, the wealthy (tobacco companies) sell a product to the poor who can’t afford to use it in the first place, and the middle class pay by trying to address all these problems with health and other services. The only ones who win are the tremendously wealthy. Both the middle class and poor suffer from this scourge on society.
Some may argue that alcohol or fast food should be considered contenders for the title of the worst way to lose money, but tobacco, unlike these other examples cannot be used in moderation and the health consequences have been demonstrated to be so severe that there is no benefit. However, if you are looking for ways to become more fruitful, avoiding or cutting down on fast food, sodas and alcohol may be ways you can do it also.
Don’t throw your money and your health down the toilet. Remember that consumer items in general are liabilities that only cost you money instead of producing income or gaining value (assets). Using tobacco is the largest consumer item liability you could possibly purchase and is most certainly the worst way to lose your money.
Couldn’t agree with you more on tobacco, addiction and the societal implications of rich owners, poor users and middle class paying the bills for health care of users. Bravo!
A few questions for future posts:
What exactly do you mean by “Consumer items in general are liabilities”? Beanie babies, Christmas decorations, kleenex? Or computers, razors, newspapers? All of these could be considered “consumables” but the value of each is very different.
Hi Annie,
Those are good questions for future posts! In summary, I’d say all of those are purchases that don’t really bring anything back in, so could be considered “liabilities” in that sense. Although the computer might have the ability to bring back some money potentially as a tool.
The worst liabilities are not just the ones you buy once, but those that have associated hidden and obvious ongoing costs. Every new item we buy that we plug in the wall will cost us electricity from here on out. Every item that we have to register, insure or take care of into the future is a worse liability than the one-time purchase. But the best purchases are those that actually bring money or other benefits back more than once (gardens, rentals, reusable items); these are the ongoing, fruitful assets.
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I introduced myself to cancer sticks when I was really young. It was the hugest mistake I’ve made. Now 30 years down the road I have found quitting is harder than you can imagine. I bought all of the stopping products but not one did the trick. Then I discovered the electronic cigarette. The njoy electronic cigarette uses a nicotine liquid that consists of only nicotine. No cancerous substances at all. They have completely saved my life. Stopping sucking in smelly smoke feels awesome!