Americans are eating, smoking and drinking away their savings from cheap gasoline, and if that’s not great news for their doctors it’s handing windfall revenue to companies from Monster Beverage Corp. to tobacco giant Altria Group Inc.
The lowest oil prices since 2009 translated into a $115 billion windfall for consumers last year, according to the American Automobile Association -- about $550 per driver. Analysts say four-fifths of that cash got spent -- often within a stone’s throw of the fuel pumps. Rather than buy a new sweater or a toy for the kids, motorists have spent much of the money at restaurants and bars, or on items purchased in gas stations such as cigarettes and salty snacks.
