Tobacco Road
Published on 2nd March, 2006
save €960 on the price in Britain!
What's the connection between four Scottish holiday makers going to court and Spain's new anti-smoking regulations? Well, the new laws in Spain prevent smoking in hotels and many other public places including certain bars and restaurants. This has led to a price war in the tobacconists and the Benidorm area is now believed to sell the cheapest cigarettes in Spain.
The local papers reckon that if a British tourist buys 160 packets of 20, they can save €960 on the price in Britain! Now, according to the Sunday Mail, this is where the problems began for the four Scots. European law says that people can import as many cigarettes as they like as long as they are for personal use but British customs have defined personal use to be 160 packets.
The Scots, who are all 60-a-day smokers, had all brought around 450 packets each and had them confiscated by customs who estimated that they could sell them for a £4000 profit. The smoky four are now taking customs to court in an effort to get their fags back and say that the 160 packets allowance would only last them a couple of months.
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