They will be on the Greek side so there are no limits but the official guidelines have got a list of amounts above which questions may be asked.
click here for info
Welcome to HT by the way!

Hi Bernard, what amount of tobacco is your dad thinking of bringing home?

we're not sure yet but it's for personal use. my dad smokes. bringing them back just to sell would defeat the purpose of the trip

As long as your dad proves they are for personal use (if questioned) then he's fine.

Your dad should, pay by card. Paying by card is better, means he hasn't gone over with a bundle of cash someone's given him.

Keep all receipts.

If he is pulled up on return & questioned be honest with the amount he's bought. If he lies then they'll be suspicious. I bought 3k of tobacco & was honest when asked & they counted it.

No cigarettes as payment. Don't say 200 are for Fred who drove us to airport, that is a payment.

Typical questions are, do you work, how many a week/day do you smoke, when were you last away.

As long as your dad proves they are for personal use then he'll be fine. Technically it's free trade & there's nothing they can do, but their job is to catch the fag runners.

he pays for his cigarettes with his card anyway. it's just that this is the first time my parents have been to cyprus and my dad saw something either on the tv or in the papers about how cyprus is controlled by both greece and turkey but we werent sure whether Protaras was on the greek or turkish side of the border and he didnt want to run the risk of losing his cigarettes again like they did last november in dublin coming back from the canary islands.

he's been afraid to go away since then and he ran out of spanish cigarettes a few months ago. its taken us this long to convince him to go on holiday again and my sister suggested cyprus since it's in the EU and the cigarettes are slightly cheaper than in mainland spain

He should be fine if he adheres to the above rules. He's been through the procedure once so may remember their questions. If you think he's going to be nervous, work out with him how many he smokes a day/week. Calculate how many packs he'll need till his next trip abroad, as these are questions he'll be asked.

Also, tell him to stick with one brand.

The only reason his cigs were confiscated was because of Canary Islands. Therefore he may feel more relaxed knowing that he's within his rights to bring them back from Cyprus. Just tell him to ensure he buys them from supermarkets or tobacconists to avoid the fake stuff.

the cigarets being taken coming back from the canaries had nothing to do with being nervous.

my sister's bright pink bag and her dropping a pouch of tobacco going through customs in dublin got them caught and the irish customs took everything

The reason why his cigarettes were confiscated on that occasion was because there are limits (200 cigarettes per adult) on what you can bring in from the Canary Islands because they are outside the EU Customs Union whereas this time he will be travelling only within it. Last time he was breaking the rules, this time he won't be as long as he can demonstrate that they are for his personal use as Fiona and Glynis have pointed out.

Bernard, with regards to "the cigarets being taken coming back from the canaries had nothing to do with being nervous."

You did say..."he's been afraid to go away since then and he ran out of spanish cigarettes a few months ago."

Plus what I actually said was "If you think he's going to be nervous,"

People need to be aware that for security hold luggage is also scanned. This will show up those who are bringing tobacco back in excess of the allowance. I do know that they inform UK customs as I know someone who was caught by this means.