Smoking ban might help first time buyers

One unexpected group to benefit from the smoking ban might be first time home buyers, it has been suggested.

Money saved from giving up smoking might be used towards mortgage deposits, according to Abbey National.

In fact, according to the building society 43 per cent of first time buyers would give up nicotine to gain a foothold on the property ladder.

Abbey estimates that giving up smoking would save £1,288 per year, a figure which would rise to over £2,500 if a couple who smoked both gave up; mortgage broker Charcol also estimates that someone with a 25 year repayment loan could cut eight years from the total by using cigarette money to pay it back.

According to Abbey’s Nici Audhlam-Gardiner: “It really is the ideal opportunity to save up some hard cash for a first home. So, it’s time for all those first time buyers that told us they’d quit cigarettes to get on the housing ladder, to put their money where their mouth, or should I say their cigarette, is.”

The smoking ban, introduced by the government on July 1st, made virtually all public places and workplaces in the UK smoke free.

Tags: smoking, giving up smoking, workplaces, first time home buyers, mortgage deposits, Nicotine, is."The smoking ban, abbey