I don't smoke but I have friends who do. If we know the prices in advance of my holiday, they can give me the money to buy cigs/tobacco for them.

Also in some resorts shops do sell cigs illegally at a higher price than the official cost, so it helps in that way.

i also need to know,for other people,as i don't smoke myself,i don't know the prices.i don't mind,bringing ciggies back,for people,but i like the money,before i go,otherwise it comes out,of the spending money,or out of the bank,but never makes its way back.so i think it's only fair,people pay,before we go!
tracy

Fair comment tracy99

I thought you could only bring ciggies back for your own consumption and if you were stopped at Customs, you had to prove they were only going to be smoked by you. If this is correct, I would not risk getting them for anyone else but maybe I am wrong?

somersetsuzie, how could you prove they were not for you ? most people bring them back for friends or relatives within the regulations, so it would only be cartons of 200 or 400, so if stopped, no problem !!

If you're a smoker and you bring back the full amount you are allowed from Spain the saving can virtually pay for the holiday so it helps to know the prices so you can cost it all up. You do have to travel very light though.

You also have to keep it very quiet too or you get scrounging friends and relatives asking to buy them cheap.

silverpixie1uk wrote:

You also have to keep it very quiet too or you get scrounging friends and relatives asking to buy them cheap.

Yes that is definitely true and sometimes I get 'Can we not have them for nowt as a present',I have give up smoking so will more than lightly get asked to bring them back

SomersetSuzie wrote:

I thought you could only bring ciggies back for your own consumption

You are only allowed to bring back goods for your own consumption, but if you're coming from the EU, you're allowed to bring quite a lot! I think if you have an excessive amount then they may want to ask you a few questions HERE.

We like to know how much tobacco costs because we can then take an extra amount of euros just for that. We have a really tight budget normally so if I know that its going to cost €45 then I can take an extra £40 just for my tobacco. We dont usually bring anything home for anyone else because we smoke ourselves and our luggage is never light.

You arent supposed to bring it back for others, but I think as long as it is only one brand of cigarette or one type of tobacco, it wont usually get picked up and you can argue that it was for personal use - as long as they dont want you to smoke it to prove it . Its when people bring home 200 of one brand of cigarette, another of another brand and several varieties of tobacco when the alarm bells ring.

Sarah

Thanks for the info CSK.
Sounds mean but as we smoke, I would not bring back anything for anyone else because I would have to pay the full price for myself after a month or so back in the UK so I would end up spending more money.
Also, I could end up paying a lot more in excess baggage! Ha!

llindy,
this question gets asked a lot on the costa brava forum - normally by people who are making one of their first posts - because the area has become a mecca for ciggie runners.a few years ago everyone was going over to france or belgium but the prices there have gone up a lot and spain is now THE place to go.
with some of the deals on ryanair, and the number of AI hotels that offer good deals, these runners can go to spain for the weekend, buy the max allowance of ciggies and baccy to sell at home, and spend 2 days in spain getting p****d for nothing on the AI.
they are able to make enough money on the trip to pay for the next one, and retain a profit.
unfortunately, they tend to use the hotels on the costa brava (htop particularly), and then the families that go report back on the hoilday from hell because of the number of drunken brits running round the hotels.
i know this is a generalisation, but as someone who goes there very regularly, i do see this situation first hand.

2 of my customers,have recently said,the prices in spain,have gone up.
one said,they went for 2 weeks & priced the ciggies & baccy,then decided to go & fetch them,their 2nd week & the price,had rised dramatically,so he didn't buy any.he said the tabbaconists,were not impressed,because sales had fallen.
he went in june.then a 2nd guy,came back last week & said the same.
can someone,who has recently been,say if this is correct,or not.i know we paid 35 euros,for golden virginia,in april.
i really can't remember,the cost,they told me,when they came back,but it was alot more,than 35 euros.
tracy

Yes some price went up in June, Latest prices HERE

luci

Tracy
Just back for Majorca and Golden Virginia was 48.5 Euro ,last time i went was April this year and was 35 so its a big jump

quite a jump then!
glad i don't smoke.really wish hubby,would give up
tracy

On the 15th June the Spanish government put 19 centimos on a packet of 20 cigs or €1.90 on a carton of 200. (I got there on the 16th)
The remaining price hike is the result of the various tobacco companies taking the opportunity to raise their prices at the same time too....this is why some brands have risen more than others, it depends on which tobacco company makes which particular brand.

A carton of L&M menthol (which I smoke) rose from €29.50 to €32.50 and since June they have slapped another 50 centimos on the price, now making them €33.
Another reason why this question gets asked a lot on the costa Brava forum, because near to the French/Spanish border at La Jonquera there are advantages of 'duty free' prices of alcohol and cigarettes.
Although there is supposedly a limit of 5 cartons per person, but I doubt that is strictly put into practise.

Sanji

sanji,
la jonquera is the place the french go to get cheap ciggies, just like the brits used to go to calais. it is the first stop over the border in spain and very accessible by car.
it is not a duty free town.
andorra, in the pyrennees is ghowever a duty free country but there are strict limits on what you can bring back from there. there are loads of trips to andorra sold to holidaymakers on the costa brava, but unless you want to take a chance at customs it is not really a viable option for holidaymakers.
just as an aside, i smoke superkings and they went up to €35 from €30, but then came down to €33.50

Are cigarettes a lot cheaper in Spain than France then ? I kind of assumed they would be similar as the same currency, but I suppose it is the tax ?