While vaping has been around for a number of years and is seen as a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes, there is still some hesitation to adopt vaping as an alternative to smoking among certain groups in Oklahoma. While the exact reason why these people continue to smoke is unclear, data shows that lower income individuals are significantly more likely to smoke versus vape in Oklahoma and to continue smoking whereas higher income groups have been shown to adopt vaping more readily and the number of smokers is declining steadily.
The Statistics of Income Based Smoking
While overall smoking numbers in the state have been on a decline since 1995, the most recent numbers (as of Feb 2022) show that the slowest decline for smokers in Oklahoma is among adult citizens making less than $50,000 per year according to the CDC. This correlates directly with the data on adoption of vaping amongst low income earners in the state.
In fact, nearly 60% of all smokers in Oklahoma make under $50,000 with the bulk of those smokers making under $25,000. The rate of decline in smoking for low income adults is around 6.5% as compared to people earning over $50,000 where the decrease in smoking rates is 9.5%. This is a roughly 50% difference amongst the two groups which shows there is a clear contributing factor that is determining who smokes and who vapes.
There is some research suggesting that marketing efforts for vapes don’t target lower income adults well and that this issue coupled with fears over the viability of vaping over smoking lead those making less money to continue smoking versus switching over to vaping despite it being a safer alternative.
However, recent updates on the research on vaping as well as the CDC changing their opinion on vaping prove that it is the safer way to ingest nicotine for former smokers who are seeking a healthier alternative.
The Cost of Vaping Should Encourage Lower Income Smokers to Make the Switch
The yearly cost of vaping can range anywhere from $387.75 to $5082.5 whereas smoking a pack a day can cost you $2087.8 to 5091.75 according to https://www.ruthlessvapor.com/blogs/ruthless-e-liquid/vaping-vs-smoking-cost.
Switching to vaping can save up to 92% if a person smokes a pack a day. However, there are cases when vaping can cost more than smoking depending on device type and what type of juice is used.