With rent payments due, travel costs rising and the Christmas pay check disappearing in a matter of hours, many Kingston University students are heading into January scraping every last penny they’ve got. Reality strikes when they realise there’s a daunting six-week gap until their next pay check, making the post-Christmas period one of the most financially challenging times of the academic year.
In response to this struggle, some students are deciding to quit vaping – not just for health reasons, but as a way to save money during the long wait for payday.
With the UK government introducing the banning disposable vapes in England last year, as a result of increased youth usage and posing environmental risks, students are now starting to reconsider their habits – especially as this habit is starting to cost them more than they can afford.
Figures compiled by Action on Smoking and Health this year show that 20% of 11- to 17-year-olds in Great Britain have tried vaping, an estimated 1.1 million children.
Disposable vapes can cost anywhere between £6 all the way to £20 and above, depending on their size, puffs and flavour variety. Now for regular users, this number can quickly add up to hundreds of pounds a year. For students, who are already struggling to make ends meet, vaping is now seen as a luxury they can no longer afford.
Third-year student Adwaitha Gopukumar has struggled to quit vaping, but accepted it was a cost she could no longer afford.
“I started vaping a couple years ago now, and at first it was new and fun, but I knew I didn’t have to rely on it,” she said. “But a month or so in, I was hooked, and ever since, I’ve found myself buying a new disposable vape every week.
“I knew I had to quit when I decided to buy a vape instead of food for lunch; and ever since I quit 2 months ago, I’ve felt healthier, I’ve had more financial stability, and most importantly, my lifestyle has become so much cheaper.”
Another third-year Kingston University student, Oliwia Bojarska said: “I have been vaping since I was 16, and however many times I’ve wanted to quit, I haven’t until now.
“I have a part-time job and still struggle to keep financial stability…everything has become so expensive now, us students just can’t keep up.”
Quitting vaping is proving to not just be to better their health, but also saving their pennies where they can. Thinking about the cost and usage of one vape alone, if they quit, students could save nearly a hundred pounds a month, which can instead be used towards food shops, travel and other important essentials.
For students, it’s clear that even small savings can make a huge difference to how they battle through the month. Now with the dreaded six-week gap between pay checks in January, here are some effective ways to stretch those pounds throughout the month, and beyond:
Aim to get a 16-25 Railcard, to save up to a third on train fares
Track spending carefully, and maybe even give yourself a strict budget a week, and put the rest of your money into savings, to avoid slipping into overdrafts
Meal prep and even freeze meals instead of relying on takeaways
Always ask for student discounts wherever possible
Try and walk or cycle to your campus to cut transport costs where you can, and overall boost wellbeing
Third-year student Oliwia, who has now been vape-free for nearly six months, has shared her constructive criticism on how the government can make vaping look less appealing to young people.
“I first started vaping because all my friends were doing it, and I loved the sound of the flavours…like who wouldn’t want to try unicorn shake flavoured air. Even the packaging was enticing. What 16-year-old wouldn’t have wanted to try it?” she said.
“But I personally feel, if they made vape packaging like cigarette boxes, with all those horrible pictures on the front, it would deter young people from finding vaping ‘cool and exciting’ and instead show them the health risks it could cause.”
These changes Oliwia suggested won’t unfortunately happen anytime soon. For now, the cost-of-living crisis in the UK, and the daunting six week gap until pay day, is forcing people to distinguish a need from a want, which can only ultimately benefit them in the long run.
