Objective: Cigarette smoking is one of the leading avoidable causes of death in the world. However, in many countries, such as Brazil, medications used during pharmacological treatments are not supported by private or public health systems. The purpose of this study is to analyze and to compare the financial impact of the costs related to adult smokers beneficiaries of a health plan and define the best strategies to stimulate smoking cessation programs. Methods: We analyzed smoking habits, based on an epidemiologic investigation of 46,407 beneficiaries of a private health plan in Brazil. Expenses with hospitalization and use of medical services during a period of 12 months, of beneficiaries who report a daily smoking habit were compared with those of non-smokers. Simulated analysis were performed with the estimate costs of treatments with anti nicotin drugs a potential decrease of the costs of the heath plan was estimated. Results: Among the beneficiaries, 29.0% (n=10,270) were smokers and 61.8% of those were male. The majority (86.7%) of the smokers informed to consume 20 cigarettes per day; 9.5% consumed 20 to 40 cigarettes per day and the rest of the group (3.8%) consumed more than this amount. 43.3% smoked for less than 10 years; 25.0% from 10 to 20 years and 31.6% for more than 20 years. The prevalence of chronic diseases was higher among the smokers, compared to non-smokers, as well as average per capita cost expenditures (29% more than the non-smokers) Conclusion: Starting from reported efficiency of the nicotine replacement therapies added to psychological support, applied to the group of smokers of the health plan and comparing the costs of this strategy with the effective costs of those beneficiaries, evidences demonstrate the importance of considering financial support systems to smoking cessation interventions, by the health plan.