Is vaping still cheaper than smoking in Canada?

A comprehensive breakdown of the cost of vaping vs. the cost of smoking in Canada

Welcome to our guide on vaping costs in Canada. In October of 2022, the Canadian government introduced a new excise tax for all Canadian vapors.  This excise tax is similar to the current taxes implemented on tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis products.  If you have ever purchased any of these products you will see an excise tax stamp that is applied to these products.

The tax applies to all e-liquids, including e-liquid bottles, pre-filled pods, and pre-filled disposable vapes.

The tax is applied on a ‘per milliliter’ basis, with the first 10ml of e-liquid in a product being the highest tax, and then the tax lowering for e-liquid larger than 10ml.   The tax works out to $1 per 2ml for the first 10ml, and then $1 per 10ml thereafter.

The question we get again and again at Canada Vapes is this:  With the new vaping excise tax, does vaping still remain a less expensive (cheaper) option than smoking cigarettes?

The short answer is. Yes, without question, vaping is cheaper than smoking in Canada.

The detailed answer is broken down below:

Cost of smoking cigarettes in Canada as of October 2022

In 2022, the average price for a pack of cigarettes in Canada is $13.91. Calculated over the course of a year, assuming a pack a day smoker, the cost to smoke cigarettes in Canada works out to: $5,077.15 per year. Just over Five thousand dollars per year to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day in Canada.

While the cost varies from province to province, even at the cheapest provincial price in Canada – Quebec, the cost of a carton of cigarettes in Quebec is $96.36 or $12.04 per pack. This still equates to $4394.60 per year. The most expensive province to smoke – Manitoba – has an average carton price of $139.83, or $17.48 per pack. This equates to $6379.74 per year to smoke a pack a day in Manitoba.

So the cost of smoking cigarettes in Canada (one pack a day) can be between approximately $4,400 and $6,400 per year.

Vaping Costs in Canada as of October 2022

Vaping now has several different options. To be most accurate, I will break down the cost into three categories – Disposable vapes, disposable pods, and traditional e-liquid vaping.

Disposable vaping

Disposable vapes are ‘one time use’ vapes. These vapes have a built in battery and come prefilled with e-liquid. Once the e-liquid runs out, or the battery does (hopefully at the same time) the product is ‘dead’ and must be replaced by a new disposable vape. I’ll consider a disposable vape as anything that cannot be recharged.

These vapes run between $13.99 – $21.99 depending on how many ‘puffs’ they estimate per product. The excise tax on these products will range between $2 and $5 depending on size. To get to an average and not get too bogged down on the numbers, we have found the average size’ disposable vape pen lasts 1600 puffs, and costs $19.49. These devices last our customers an average of 4 days, meaning the cost per day to use a disposable device is $4.87 per day. Calculated for a full year, the average cost of vaping a disposable is $1178.46 per year. This is 65% less than smoking cigarettes, or over nearly a third the cost of smoking cigarettes. And it is the most expensive vaping option available.

Pod Systems

Pod systems have gained popularity over the past 4-5 years as they have become available in many convenience stores and gas stations. They are super simple to use, and when your pod runs out, you just pop a new pre-filled pod into the top of your vape. Examples of pod systems include the Allo Sync, and the Stlth Device. Both of these systems have rechargeable batteries and replaceable pre-filled ‘pods’. These pods typically hold 2ml of e-liquid, last most of our customers one day.

To use a pod system, you need to make a one time purchase of a vape pen ($14.99-$19.99) and then purchase individual pre-filled pods. Let’s assume that the average vape pen lasts you approximately 3 months, so the daily cost of the vape pen is 0.8 cents.

These pods typically come in a 3 pack and are $17.99. This works out to a daily average cost of $6 per day, plus 8 cents for the vape pen. Calculated for a full year, the average cost of vaping a pod system is $2219.20. This works out to being 56.3% cheaper then smoking cigarettes.

Traditional e-liquid

We sell our e-liquid in 60ml and 120ml bottles.  Based on the excise taxes, the larger the bottle size, the less tax you will pay. 120ml bottles are the most popular bottle size, so for this example, I will use the 120ml bottle size.

To vape traditionally, you will need a Vaping starter kit that comes with a tank that is filled up manually using our e-liquid.  The prices of these starter kits can vary between $24.99 all the way to $89.99.  These systems typically have a coil that needs to be replaced every once in a while.  On average, our customers will use two coils per month.  Also on average, our customers will vape approximately 5ml of e-liquid per month.

Breaking down this cost is a bit more complicated, but I’ll take it slow.

E-Liquid

At $65.99 for a 120ml bottle of e-liquid, based on 5ml use per day, the average daily price of e-liquid is: $2.75 per day.

Starter Kit

Prices vary, but let’s take the average of $60 for a starter kit.  Based on one year’s use per starter kit, the daily average cost of a starter kit is 0.16 per day.

Coils

On average, our customers use two coils per month.  The average price of a single coil is $3.60, so based on using two coils per month, the daily average cost of coils is $0.24 per day.

Adding all of this up – the daily average cost of vaping using traditional e-liquid is: $3.15. This works out to a great value $1149.75 per year.  This works out to being 78% less expensive than smoking cigarettes and will save you just shy of $4,000 every year compared with smoking cigarettes.

In conclusion

No matter what manner you choose, vaping was and still remains much cheaper than smoking in Canada.  Switching from smoking to vaping will save you between $2800-$3900 every year. Over a 10 year span, this savings will be an average of over $30,000 in savings.  Think of what you can do with $30,000 extra in your bank in ten years!

The most cost effective vaping method is to purchase a larger and more durable starter kit and fill up the tank yourself with 120ml e-liquid bottles.  This method saves you nearly 80% vs. smoking. Even the pre-filled pod systems and disposables will all end up being less than half the cost of cigarette smoking, so no matter how you slice it, vaping is still much cheaper then smoking.

Not only that, but you also won’t be stinking like cigarettes, or putting nearly 2000 cancer-causing chemicals into your body. The results are overwhelming, vaping remains much cheaper than smoking in Canada.

If you have any questions, our expert award-winning customer support experts are always available to talk, email or text. Just reach out at 1-844-286-VAPE, or email support@canadavpes.com anytime.