The amount of money smokers spend on medical bills is linked to how long they have had the habit, a study showed Thursday.

According to the Health Ministry, among 2.46 million male smokers aged 19 and older in 2013, some 170,000 who had been smoking for 40 years spent 2.7 times more on hospital bills than those who had been smoking for 10 years.

On average, those who smoked a pack of cigarettes every day for the past 40 years spent 1.03 million won ($977) on their hospital bills in 2013, while those who had smoked for 10 years spent 384,998 won.

The smokers visited hospitals to receive treatment for ailments ranging from the flu to lung disease. The ministry official said that the findings prove that chain-smoking for a long period of time threatens one’s overall health and results in more frequent hospital visits.

The ministry also said that smokers in the low-income group generally have to spend 1.6 times more on hospital bills compared to those in the high-income group. On average, smokers in the low-income group spent about 320,000 won more than the other group in 2013.

According to the National Health Insurance Service, those in the low-income category earn 1.27 million won or less while those in the high-income category make about 4 million won per month.

By Kim Da-sol, Intern Reporter (dasolkim@heraldcorp.com)