In message <v02110107b34c1929d4af@[130.155.21.62]>, Jordi Robert-Ribes
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes
>
>Otherwise, any supermarket in Andorra will sell cheap tobacco that may suit
>the "needy british public".
>
>And remember... as the Health Department states: "smoking damages your health".
>
If the original poster is thinking of doing something akin to the "booze
run" across the English Channel (it is said that 20% of the beer and
wine sold in the UK is illegal imports), it may be worth pointing out
that the health warnings are in Spanish[1] - a rather obvious give away.
;-) Even before there were health warnings, there were differences in
the packet design between cigarettes sold in the UK and those sold
abroad so customs officers could tell the origin.
One of the perks of visiting Andorra is of course the low tax,
particularly on commodities which are highly taxed elsewhere. Although
Andorra has raised the tobacco tax several times in recent years - under
pressure from its neighbours to get to grips with the illegal trade -
one can still buy them in Andorra for just under GBP 1 per packet (over
GBP 3 in UK). I can fill my car with petrol for just over GBP 10 (over
GBP 30 at home)[2]. The days when one could get a wine bottle refilled
for 5 pesetas are long gone but alcohol still quite cheap. On one of my
visits (in the late 1970s AFAIR) one of the supermarkets was running a
promotion for Bell's whisky for about GBP 1! The lady handing out free
samples was quite taken aback when I declined the offer - I had already
bought my allowance elsewhere.
[1] Interesting that it is in Spanish, not Catalan. Could it have
something to do with the fact that the customs allowance for goods
(apparently) bought in EU countries is much more generous than if they
were bought outside EU? If the customs officer asks you which countries
you have visited, remember to include Spain. ;-)
[2] When I first visited Andorra, the first filling station was at the
top of the Envalira Pass. Over the years, new ones have opened nearer
to Pas de la Casa but still none actually in the village. Could there
be some arrangement for there to be a minimum distance from the border?
I've noticed that many drivers who fill up at the first filling station
immediately head back towards France.
The tax is a little lower on cigarettes manufactured under licence in
Andorra than on imported ones. The result, I believe, is that Tabacs
Reig who used to make the local cigarettes now finds it more profitable
to turn out vast quantities of Marlboro and other international brands.
I used to quite like the local Charlemagne cigarettes but I don't think
you can get them now. :-( My late wife said that Marloboro bought in
Andorra were noticeably different from those bought elsewhere.
--
E. J. Jewell (Hon. Librarian, Andorran Philatelic Study Circle)
<URL:http://www.chy-an-piran.demon.co.uk/>
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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