Rocker JON BON JOVI has given up cigarettes - because he refuses to pay the huge insurance premiums needed to cover a smoker.

The Livin' On A Prayer hitmaker picked up the habit while filming 1994 movie Moonlight and Valentino, but finally decided to turn his back on tobacco after trying to buy life insurance - and realising he was paying over-the-odds due to his love of cigarettes.

He tells Q magazine, "I swore off them before the tour and I'm happy to say that I haven't picked them up again.

"(I quit because of) the cold hard truth. I tried to get life insurance and the price with smoking was so ridiculous it was enough to p**s you off and just throw them in the garbage. So it was cold f**king turkey."