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The Great Cigarette Rip Off!
- Thread starter Cobra
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- The real Chris
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I'd say roughly the same, there are far more aliments than smoking related, some non smokers get various cancers, and other ailments
and not all smokers get cancer.
Its a bit like the "drinking argument"
It now seems following an independent study the the government had been massaging the figures for years,
and the total cost, NHS policing etc is about 3.5 billion and the tax collected is about 10 billion.
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neil_g
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of course. would be interested to know what the actual numbers would be though.
i guess there'd be other plus sides from people living longer, more money into the economy etc.
same could be said for alcohol consumption too, not singling out smoking.
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I doubt we'll ever know for sure TBH
I'm not a drinker BTW so have no axe to grind there, but I just found the report interesting,
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IIRC the tax income from fags is greater than the smoking related diseases cost the NHS which is one of the reasons they tax the bejeezus out of the things rather than simply banning them. Chris, being at least vaguely South East based, wouldn't it be worth a regular trip across the sleeve to pick up supplies? Not sure what the cost is in France but in Greece, Marlboro Menthol are 4.10 for 20 and Golden Virginia is 4.60 for 20g. And that's Euros not quid! The added bonus is that you can't read the health warnings if they're in foreign!!!
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"Personal use" I believe is the buzz word of the day
and the suggested amount believe is 800 (ie 4 cartons )So yep they realised that by "free trade" they were missing out on tax
OldCarlos
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Quite possibly, BUT I'd hazard a guess that most smokers die younger, so less drain on society in general.
The longer folk live after retirement the more it costs everyone else. ( pension, medical care, nursing homes.....)
As Nod says, the tax income from fags is probably greater than the smoking related diseases cost the NHS.
"Personal use" I believe is the buzz word of the day
So yep they realised that by "free trade" they were missing out on tax
See https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arrivals-from-eu-countries. Strictly speaking, there isn't a limit but 'you’re more likely to be asked questions' if you have more than 800 cigarettes. I'm quite sure it would be less if EU law allowed member states to set the 'guide level' (which only exists as a form of evidence) below 800, but that's the minimum.
viv1969
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Living not far frim Dover, it's something I used to do quite a bit....coming back with usually double the amount recommended in the link above.
The only question I was ever asked was "are they for your own use? " and my only answer was "yes". That was always the end of it.
In practice, despite the suggested amount, if you're carrying more the onus is on HMC to prove they're not for personal use, and unless you have a VAST amount, or your travel movements suggest you're doing it very regularly, they don't bother.
People tend not to do the specific booze/fag hops now because there's not all the "Sail to Calais for £1...or £10 with a car" offers that there used to be, and the cigs aren't cheap enough to negate the cost of the trip.
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Hard to argue "Own Use" if you're carrying several different brands but you shouldn't have a problem with bringing a fair few bricks of just one (or even 2) back. Not sure if it's still the case that it's up to you to show that they're for your own use rather than for HMR&C to prove they're for selling on.
There's no reverse onus of proof or presumption based on quantity, but I've read reports of Customs seizing goods and vehicles for 'further investigation' in attempts to get around this. This was a few years ago and they may have adopted a different approach, possibly because of criticism and/or fewer people trying to bring in large quantities for the reasons Ruth suggested?.
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The burden of proof is on HMC.
You're also permitted to gift them
That's lucky! Only brought back 1 brick and 1 pack of baccy for a mate and his wife but do know of people who take extra suitcases (and pay for the extra weight) to sell on their return, this apparently funds their trips. Didn't see them this year, maybe they got rumbled.
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Mate of mine got 6 month a few years ago for bringing in a tranny van full and "evading tax" or whatever the charge was, he got caught again 2 years later but got let through because he onvinced them the 20,000 cigs were for personal use, he was visited once a month for 6 month by the HMRC who checked he only used about 200 a week, on the last visit they all helped themselves to a few cartons each on the understanding if he said nowt he co what he wanted with the rest
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The Russians are coming the Russians are coming !
