Free pack year calculator
This calculator helps to produce a numerical value of lifetime tobacco exposure called pack years. A pack year is defined as twenty cigarettes smoked every day for one year. People who smoke often vary their smoking habits over the years which can make it difficult to create a pack score. This smoking pack year calculator simplifies the task.
Cigarettes to water pipes
Cigars, beedis, pipes and loose tobacco
Highly commended
GP Enterprise Awards 2012
Free to all users
A web-based calculator
Pack year calculator
The calculator turns a whole smoking history into pack years. One pack year is 20 cigarettes a day for one year; cigars, spliffs, cigarillos, bidis, pipes, loose tobacco and waterpipes are first converted to cigarettes. Add a period for each change in amount, then keep the result as a PDF, a print-out or a link.
Tick the types of tobacco smoked, then enter how much and for how many years. Add another period whenever the amount changed. The running total updates as you go, and the result can be downloaded as a PDF, emailed, printed or saved as a link.
Please note that whilst most of the values should be specified as number smoked per day, tobacco should be specified as amount smoked per week.
One pack year is 20 cigarettes a day for one year, which is 7,300 cigarettes. Cigars, pipes, loose tobacco and other types are first converted to cigarettes, using the figures on the References page.
The pack year calculator records combustible smoking products only. Years vaped may be the best way to record vaping on the clinical record.
It does not record passive smoking. One description that may be useful is the definition of a passive smoker as someone who has lived in the same house as a smoker for five years.
No. Your answers stay in your browser. If you download or email a PDF, they are used once to make it and are not kept. See the privacy policy.
Cigarette equivalents used by the calculator
See the references
GP Enterprise Awards 2012
The smoking pack year calculator was highly commended in the Best use of Media and Technology in the GP Enterprise awards 2012.
“The simplicity and usefulness of this calculator, and the generosity of its creators, mean that we should take every opportunity to disseminate its availability”
The Judges · GP Enterprise Awards 2012
Learn more
Lung health check
Plain-English help to work out your smoking history before your appointment.
For clinicians
A line to paste into EMIS or SystmOne, a PDF to attach, a print layout and embed code.
FAQs
Answers prepared by Dr Nigel Masters and Catherine Tutt RN, RM, updated on 1st October 2023.
References
Where the calculator’s conversion figures come from, and the studies used to check them.
Recent news
A New Version of the Smoking Pack Year Calculator October 2026 - A new version of the smoking pack year calculator went live on 14 October 2026. It works out pack years in exactly the same way as… 
Lung Cancer Screening will be Hampered by Poor Recording of Searchable Smoking Terminology in GP Computer Systems September 2023 - General practice smoking records will be used to target lung cancer screening in people over 55. Although general practitioners generally record when patients have stopped smoking,… See how a pack year is defined, how the sum works and what the figure does and does not tell you.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about the smoking pack years calculator feel free to contact Dr Nigel Masters or Catherine Tutt.
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M: 07956971305
E: mastersnigel@gmail.com
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