26 09 2013, 12 08 #1 Sleepy Registered User

Join Date May 2003 Location Clontarf Posts 17,233 Adverts Friends Day trips to buy cigarettes in the EU?

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Was just looking into cigarette prices around Europe and the most comprehensive data I can seem to find is the list here but it appears a little out dated

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Converting those prices to Euro and adding 25% to allow for inflation, it seems that the price differential on 800 cigarettes in Estonia, Hungary or Lithuania would be around the &#8364 250 mark.

With return Ryanair flights available for about (or even under) &#8364 100 if you book enough in advance, it seems to me that there’s sufficient financial incentive to make a return trip to purchase enough cigarettes to see you through a month or so.

With those particular countries, there doesn’t seem to be enough of a window between Ryanair flights to do it in a day (and avoid overnight costs) but assuming one travels light and hostels it etc. I can certainly see a weekend away paying for itself…

Anyone have any experience of doin this? Do any other countries where the flights would be more frequent offer enough of a price differential to make a round trip worth while? Thanks from Fighting Irish Sleepy View Public Profile Find More Posts by Sleepy Advertisement 26 09 2013, 22 14 #2 lord lucan Moderator

Join Date Feb 2006 Location EIDW Posts 8,526 Adverts Friends Mod Aviation & Aircraft, Dublin County West, Rock & Metal, Smoking I’ve been doing runs to the continent for the last couple of years. Initially i went to Madrid and Barcelona,over and back on the same day but the days could be quite long as generally you’d get the first flight out and last flight home.

Most of the Eastern European countries that are cheaper for cigarettes are almost impossible to do on a day trip. There’s often only one flight out and back so unless you can exit,clear security and leg it back through the duty free in 25 45 minutes you’re snookered.

For the last year i’ve been going to Belgium for cigarettes. 06.40 flight from Dublin with Aer Lingus and usually return on the 16.00 flight from Brussels. A 15 minute trip on the train from the airport has you in either Brussels city centre or Leuven where you can savour some classy Belgian beers.

Brussels airport sells the cigarettes duty paid for roughly &#8364 50 depending on the brand. I’d usually buy 2000,would do me for roughly 3 months and saves me around &#8364 400 when you take the air fare out of it. Brussels airport also has a smoking room right next to the bar near the gates so you can grab a beer and have a few cigarettes before heading home. (2) thanks from Fighting Irish, Sleepy lord lucan View Public Profile Find More Posts by lord lucan 26 09 2013, 22 34 #3 AM21 Registered User
Join Date Sep 2013 Posts 14 Adverts Friends Would you ever worry about getting caught or do they not check much? AM21 View Public Profile Find More Posts by AM21 26 09 2013, 22 37 #4 lord lucan Moderator

Join Date Feb 2006 Location EIDW Posts 8,526 Adverts Friends Mod Aviation & Aircraft, Dublin County West, Rock & Metal, Smoking Quote Originally Posted by AM21 Would you ever worry about getting caught or do they not check much? The sticky at the top of the forum explains the legalities of it all but suffice to say i’ve never been stopped or had any issues with Customs. Thanks from AM21 lord lucan View Public Profile Find More Posts by lord lucan 26 09 2013, 22 38 #5 rugbyman Registered User
Join Date Mar 2007 Posts 1,353 Adverts Friends Sleepy, the limit for own use is whatever you like,within reason. a real nicotine covered smoker should have no great problem with 15/20 cartons.(EEC)
ask the customs yourself.

re belgium i often travel via charleroi,,and buy two cartons. last time they had none on sale in the airport,except for people leaving the EC

Regards, rugbyman View Public Profile Find More Posts by rugbyman Advertisement 27 09 2013, 15 27 #6 Sleepy Registered User

Join Date May 2003 Location Clontarf Posts 17,233 Adverts Friends Was talking about it with Mrs Sleepy last night and came up with the plan to take a weekend trip somewhere for our anniversary in February which we could pay for out of the savings on the cigarettes!

I’m currently thinking about Prague as a city that has some romance to it (away from the strip clubs! lol) and has good prices for smokes but open to any other suggestions.

As a fan of Belgian beers, Leuven certainly sounds intriguing lord lucan! Sleepy View Public Profile Find More Posts by Sleepy 27 09 2013, 15 44 #7 Gran Hermano Moderator

Join Date Dec 2006 Location South of Town Posts 7,460 Adverts Friends Mod Coffee & Tea, Facial Hair & Hats I’ll pick up 6 or 8 cartons at a time anytime I’m travelling around the EU with work.
Stick to purchasing one brand and you shouldn’t have any hassle as long as for
personal consumption.

Portugal is currently one of the cheapest options compared to France/Italy/Spain. Thanks from Sleepy Gran Hermano View Public Profile Find More Posts by Gran Hermano 27 09 2013, 15 48 #8 Sleepy Registered User

Join Date May 2003 Location Clontarf Posts 17,233 Adverts Friends I travel a lot for work but unfortunately it’s all to the UK Sleepy View Public Profile Find More Posts by Sleepy 27 09 2013, 16 05 #9 Sleepy Registered User

Join Date May 2003 Location Clontarf Posts 17,233 Adverts Friends Portugal is certainly interesting Gran Hermano. I can find flights for Faro that get you over and back in a (very long) day in October for &#8364 100. Assuming &#8364 45 a carton for Marlboro or Camel that’d save you &#8364 220. Not a bad saving for a day you’d spend most of reading your kindle! Sleepy View Public Profile Find More Posts by Sleepy Advertisement 27 09 2013, 16 13 #10 Gran Hermano Moderator

Join Date Dec 2006 Location South of Town Posts 7,460 Adverts Friends Mod Coffee & Tea, Facial Hair & Hats It’s worth checking whether cigarettes are available for purchase in particular airports/terminals for intra EU flights. It is not always the case, especially in Italy I’ve found.

Italian prices can be found on the Italian government website as they are regulated
example

In Spain, you can save approx &#8364 5 per carton buying in local tobacco shop compared to buying in airport.

Prices and advice for Portugal
Gran Hermano View Public Profile Find More Posts by Gran Hermano 27 09 2013, 16 19 #11 Sleepy Registered User

Join Date May 2003 Location Clontarf Posts 17,233 Adverts Friends The flights I was looking at were about 4/5 hours apart so plenty of time to get out and get some in the nearest tabac to the airport. As I said, it’d be a very long day and you’d realistically end up spending about &#8364 20 on coffees/snacks etc. but perfectly do able. Thanks from maringo Sleepy View Public Profile Find More Posts by Sleepy

European union ministers back ban on menthol cigarettes

S korea’s state health insurer sues tobacco firms for damages
By Agence France Presse
Friday, June 21, 2013 17 30 EDT

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European Union health ministers on Friday approved plans to ban menthol and other flavoured cigarettes as part of a crackdown on youth smoking.

But the ministers reduced the size of mandatory health warnings on packages, including pictures of diseased organs, and they stopped short of banning “slim” cigarettes.

The proposed legislation must now be voted on by the European parliament. If they approve the law it could be in force across the 27 nation bloc within three years.

Irish Health Minister James Reilly, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said it was a “a huge step forward in the fight against tobacco use”.

“We cannot have a situation where we have a product that kills 700,000 Europeans every year looking to replace those customers with children, because that’s where the advertising is focused,” he said.

The health ministers backed the plans despite objections from some countries that they would have a negative economic effect, an argument strongly backed by tobacco companies.

EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg, himself a former smoker, said he believed the ban could be in place within three years, providing that it is passed by European MPs.

The proposed legislation was released in December by the European Commission the executive arm of the EU and has since been under consideration by the bloc’s ministers.

The health ministers meeting on Friday agreed a ban on tobacco products with a “characterising flavour” other than tobacco, for example fruit or menthol, which are particularly believed to target the young, according to a statement from the Irish presidency.

They also agreed to force tobacco companies to cover 65 percent of cigarette packets with written health warnings and gruesome pictures of diseased body parts.

But that figure is down from the 75 percent of packaging that was proposed in December.

One person involved in the negotiations however pointed out that it was an improvement from the current level of 40 percent.

Britain meanwhile secured the possibility for individual EU states to insist on plain packaging.

The ministers agreed on minimum packaging including a ban on “lipstick style” packs popular with young people, it said.

Image “Closeup Portrait Of Handsome Smoking Young Man” via Shutterstock

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