# How much does it cost for a box of 20 Benson & Hedges in Portugal? or Spain?



## Leibide (23 Jul 2011)

How much does it cost for a box of 20 Benson & Hedges in Portugal? How does that compare with Spain?

I want to book a holiday for my father in a nice city for November this year. He is a confirmed heavy smoker, and wants to buy as many cigarettes as possible 'out foreign'. I have searched the internet looking for prices and regulations.

Much of the information is out of date, and so it is difficult to be sure where is cheapest. However, it would seem that there are restrictions from new member countries like Poland. Spain and Portugal seem to be the places people go to stock up on fags. Lisbon is a nice city, as is Sevilla. I would love to know which country is cheaper for cigarettes before I book.


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## bullworth (23 Jul 2011)

I can't help you with prices but maybe you should look for information about Gibraltar also as technically its outside the EU and is true ''duty free.'' Its close to the border between Spain and Portugal so might be accessible from both holiday destinations depending where in Spain or Portugal you end up!


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## Leibide (23 Jul 2011)

*The cost of Benson & Hedges in Portugal*

Thanks for the suggestion Bullworth - I hadn't considered Gibralter. It would seem you're right. Although I could not get any up-to-date information, other blogs have spoken of cigarette prices in Gibralter being very cheap, just as they are in Andorra and the Canary Islands. However, only 200 cigarettes can be carried out at any one time - my father wants to bring as many as his suitcase will carry! One blogger suggested staying nearby in Spain and bringing a different carton every day. Therefore it must be cheaper than Spain.

All things considerred however, I am going to limit my search Sevilla in Spain and Lisbon in Portugal. They are both must-sees. They both have direct flights from Dublin. The only deciding factor is the price of cigarettes. A terrible reason for going on holiday, but that's chronic smokers for you!


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## Slim (23 Jul 2011)

I bought 200 B&H at Faro airport in April I think the price was around £46 stg. Got 400 B&H at Antalya Airport in Turkey for €40 in June. I don't smoke! Slim


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## Protocol (23 Jul 2011)

Try these websites:

http://www.day-tripper.net/tobacco-in-spain.html

December 2010- Big increases in Spanish tobacco prices announced. JPS Black now 36 euro, Marlboro 46 euro, Superkings 41.50 euro, Drum 64 euro, Amber Leaf 63 euro



[broken link removed]


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## Protocol (23 Jul 2011)

UK tobacco manufacturer's website:

[broken link removed]


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## Protocol (23 Jul 2011)

Spanish state tobacco website:

[broken link removed]


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## Leibide (26 Jul 2011)

Slim, thanks for telling me about the prices you recently paid yourself. You took a bit of a risk there taking twice the permitted amount out of Turkey. Other blogs indicate that many people are flying cigarettes out of non-EU countries with impunity. They’re not even staying in the countries visited. That’s some amount of petrol being burned. God be with the days when it was cheaper to go by rail. I suppose the worst that could happen when you brought your mere 200 cigarettes above the limit back with you from a proper holiday would be that they would be confiscated. Maybe I’m wrong. For all I know you could be fined too. Hardly.


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## monagt (26 Jul 2011)

Buy from a trusted source as lots of fakes on the market which are dangerous to health (more than normal cigs) - ref documentary on RTE


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## Leibide (26 Jul 2011)

Protocol, you’re a wealth of information. You make me look stupid now for saying current prices could not be found on the internet. The last link you sent me, of the Spanish state tobacco website, is right up to the minute for Spain prices- 
Spain, *July 2011*
Benson & Hedges 100’s –- €85
Malboro Red 100’s - €82

Prices are changing fast Europe-wide. Latvia used to be the cheapest country in the EU, and the UK the dearest. Now it’s Poland and Ireland respectively, as I see from your link to the UK tobacco website. Prices are for *July 2010.*
Ireland - €140
UK - €125.80
Spain -€56
Portugal - €57.60
Poland - €31.40

The day-tripper website shows prices in Spain and the Canary Islands for various brands from as recently as *March 2011 – *

Spain -   
Malboro - *March 2011* - €49 
Bensons - *March 2010*-€37
Benson & Hedges - *January 2010* - €36

Canaries  (same site)
April 2010 - superkings 21.60 euro/200

The is no date given with the link for Portugal prices, so I presume it’s about April *2010-*
Benson & Hedges - €39
Malboro - €39


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## Leibide (26 Jul 2011)

Ignore everything I wrote in my last post – I thought there were 20 boxes in a carton when in fact there are 10. Here’s what should have been written – 

Protocol, you’re a wealth of information. You make me look stupid now for saying current prices could not be found on the internet. The last link you sent me, of the Spanish state tobacco website, is right up to the minute for Spain prices- 
Spain, *July 2011*
Benson & Hedges 100’s –€42.50
Malboro Red 100’s - €41


Prices are changing fast Europe-wide. Latvia used to be the cheapest country in the EU, and the UK the dearest. Now it’s Poland and Ireland respectively, as I see from your link to the UK tobacco website. Prices are given in pounds. The pound was nearly on a par with the euro at this time I believe. *July 2010*.
Ireland - £70
UK - £62.90
Spain -£28
Portugal - £28.80
Poland - £15.70


The day-tripper website shows prices in Spain and the Canary Islands for various brands from as recently as *March 2011 – *
Spain -   
Malboro - *March 2011* - €49 
Bensons - *March 2010*-€37
Benson & Hedges - *January 2010* - €36

Canaries  (same site)
April 2010 - superkings 21.60 euro/200

The is no date given with the link for Portugal prices, so I presume it’s about April *2010-*
Benson & Hedges - €39
Malboro - €39


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## onq (26 Jul 2011)

People talk about the rip off in the building industry - a lot of developers made a killing as did landowners.

These figures suggest that the real rip off is in retail and its still continuing.

ONQ.


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## seantheman (26 Jul 2011)

onq said:


> People talk about the rip off in the building industry - a lot of developers made a killing as did landowners.
> 
> These figures suggest that the real rip off is in retail and its still continuing.
> 
> ONQ.


 The retail sector only make the same margin as they do in the UK, the difference is in the exchequer take


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## oldnick (27 Jul 2011)

Please tell me this thread is a wind-up.
In a life-time of selling holidays I have never ever had anyone ask where are the cheapest ciggies as a basis for booking a holiday !!


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## Leper (27 Jul 2011)

A shucks Nick, often in business people "in the know" occasionally cannot see the woods from the trees.  

I dont smoke, but whenever I come back from Spain I bring cigarettes for my friends. [Please no "if you were really a friend, you wouldn't bring them back ciggies as some of my smoker friends don't want to know the harmful effects of smoking].

Remember the days when we would come back laden with bottles of vodka, gin, whiskey etc even 'prescribed' drugs.  

There's more to sun holidays than sun.


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## Sarah W (27 Jul 2011)

Not sure about B&H but most brands are €3.50/€3.80 a packet in Portugal.

Sarah

www.casadatoupeira.com


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## Homer (28 Jul 2011)

Just back from Portugal tonight and it cost €40 for 200 B&H light.


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## MB05 (31 Jul 2011)

oldnick, if you smoke and you're smart it makes sense. Not necessarily going to somewhere you don't want to holiday in just to get cigarette's but if you like certain places like Spain or Portugal and didn't mind which one you go to it can become a variable much like price or the weather. Spain and Portugal make it easy to buy cigarettes as they are available locally and in the airports and they stock the brands familiar to the Irish/UK markets. Other European destinations do not make it as easy probably because they haven't changed to cater for the Irish/English abroad.

If you smoke buying enough cigarette's on holidays can virtually pay for the holiday. My parents go to Spain or Portugal twice a year and always stock up as my mother smokes. The cost of a package holiday for a week in May or Sept/Oct is usually under €400. Cigarettes per pack are roughly half the price they are over here so by buying 10 cartons of cigarette's whilst on holiday they save the price of one of their holidays.

I don't think they would choose a holiday destination solely based on cigarette prices as there is not much between them price wise at the moment but if say Spain started charging €60 a carton tomorrow and Portugal was still charging €40 a carton Portugal would be the destination of choice from now, guaranteed.

By doing this on each holiday and by getting the occasional top up by family members going away she rarely has to buy cigarettes here.


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## Slim (31 Jul 2011)

Leibide said:


> ...You took a bit of a risk there taking twice the permitted amount out of Turkey. Other blogs indicate that many people are flying cigarettes out of non-EU countries with impunity. .


 Nah, there was 5 of us and 1200 cigs in total, so I was covered but one of the teenagers might have had to surrender a carton of theirs! Long story short, I know a guy who was funding his hols in the Canaries by filling his suitcase with cigs, several times a year. He didn't even check in a bag of clothes, just fags...until one day at the airport baggage carousel, he spotted customs officers watching his 'fag bag' going around so he legged it. I'm sure they could have traced him from the tag but it was a UK airport and he lives in RoI. If people make ahabit of it the Revenue will notice eventually. Slim


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## Hillsalt (1 Aug 2011)

onq said:


> People talk about the rip off in the building industry - a lot of developers made a killing as did landowners.
> 
> These figures suggest that the real rip off is in retail and its still continuing.
> 
> ONQ.



My brother is a newsagent. 

Cigs provide 9% profit and Lotto is 6%. Theres two items account for half of his trade.


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