In one photo, a 50 gram pouch of roll-your-own tobacco, papers and filters, in the other, a trolley-full of groceries. Photo / via Reddit
It's a stark contrast.
In one photo, a 50 gram pouch of roll-your-own tobacco, papers and filters. Total cost: around $90.
In the other, a trolley-full of groceries, from meat packs and veges to bread, milk, bananas and cheese, and a giant sack of spuds. Total cost: $90.31
The trolley is so full, a box of Weet-bix and tray of yoghurt pottles are balanced precariously on the trolley handle.
The haul was bought at Balclutha New World on January 17, according to a receipt also posted to the site.
A Reddit user posted the image onto the New Zealand sub-reddit yesterday.
"What $90 buys you in 2017," the user wrote.
Then came the comments, almost 500 of them by 6.30pm today.
While some argued about the best places to buy groceries, and the trolley size, others got the post's confronting message.
LordBledisloe shared their pleasure at having kicked the habit two-and-a-half years ago.
"Just checked the app on my phone and it tells me that as of today, I've saved $13,156 and am just over half way towards having the same lung cancer risk as a someone who never smoked ... I still can't shop this frugally. That's a good haul for $90."
Another user wrote of their own experience of the sudden increase in income after quitting.
"You notice it basically the first week when you quit. especially now that its at (sic) easy $100 a week habit, imagine getting a 100 a week payrise. you definitely notice that s**t."
That prompted ben_squat to buck the trend and consider taking up smoking.
"I should start smoking then quit so I can get the thrill of a pay rise...."
The image has also been posted to image-sharing website imgur, where it has been viewed almost 18,000 times.
The Government has been hiking tobacco prices since 2012, as part of a drive to cut the number of KIwi smokers to fewer than five per cent by 2025.
Last year, the Government committed to raising tax on tobacco by 10 per cent every January 1 for the next four years.
That means by 2020, the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes is expected to cost around $30.
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