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simong

Lifer
Oct 13, 2015
2,747
16,592
UK
but as a whole, the tobacco consumption in Greece and Spain surpasses Germany.whereas in Finland. around 50% of cigarette smokers went into illicit markets, thanks to draconian price increase.
I don't know what the figures are here in the UK but most cigarette smokers I know have switched to RYO, those who stayed with cigarettes mostly buy the counterfeit packets.
Almost makes you feel sorry for the politicians. They enforce a ridiculously unfair levy of tax only to be beat at their own game by harder working & more intelligent amateur criminals from Turkey and China. Higher health risks for the smoker & much reduced tax dividend for government.
 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
12,925
21,671
SE PA USA
I don't know what the figures are here in the UK but most cigarette smokers I know have switched to RYO, those who stayed with cigarettes mostly buy the counterfeit packets.
Almost makes you feel sorry for the politicians. They enforce a ridiculously unfair levy of tax only to be beat at their own game by harder working & more intelligent amateur criminals from Turkey and China. Higher health risks for the smoker & much reduced tax dividend for government.
I never would have seen that coming!
 
I don't know what the figures are here in the UK but most cigarette smokers I know have switched to RYO, those who stayed with cigarettes mostly buy the counterfeit packets.
Almost makes you feel sorry for the politicians. They enforce a ridiculously unfair levy of tax only to be beat at their own game by harder working & more intelligent amateur criminals from Turkey and China. Higher health risks for the smoker & much reduced tax dividend for government.
In the US, we had similar happen. As taxes went up on cigarettes, pipe tobacco was still relatively cheap by comparison. Technically, there is no difference between pipe and cigarette tobaccos, except taxes. So the mafia got involved and started selling RYO pipe tobacco. The then set up rolling clubs, usually down stairs from the tobacconists would be a room that you pay membership to use, which would have a completely unused pool table and several industrial cigarette rolling machines. The type that grinds and bulk rolls hundreds of cigarettes at a time. The mob would have one goombah at the door to check membership. You bought you supplies upstairs, and the mafia let you make your carton of smokes downstairs.

The the ATF gets involved busting down doors and shit. The FDA puts pipes on the radar, and the mafia makes their money and uses it to fund selling fentanyl to children. Oh what a pretty world we live in.
 
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simong

Lifer
Oct 13, 2015
2,747
16,592
UK
In the US, we had similar happen. As taxes went up on cigarettes, pipe tobacco was still relatively cheap by comparison. Technically, there is no difference between pipe and cigarette tobaccos, except taxes. So the mafia got involved and started selling RYO pipe tobacco. The then set up rolling clubs, usually down stairs from the tobacconists would be a room that you pay membership to use, which would have a completely unused pool table and several industrial cigarette rolling machines. The type that grinds and bulk rolls hundreds of cigarettes at a time. The mob would have one goombah at the door to check membership. You bought you supplies upstairs, and the mafia let you make your carton of smokes downstairs.

The the ATF gets involved busting down doors and shit. The FDA puts pipes on the radar, and the mafia makes their money and uses it to fund selling fentanyl to children.

Years ago the EU thought they were losing monies via the RYO crowd & changed the Cut on a few popular blends. St. Bruno RR for example. What used to be a shag like cut was changed into a broken flake, now it's more of a ribbon cut.
Don't think any of it has deterred the RYO smoker. Still, as long as the powers that be are seen to be interfering, then their authority continues to be accepted I suppose.
 
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Jun 9, 2018
4,521
14,507
England
In the US, we had similar happen. As taxes went up on cigarettes, pipe tobacco was still relatively cheap by comparison. Technically, there is no difference between pipe and cigarette tobaccos, except taxes. So the mafia got involved and started selling RYO pipe tobacco. The then set up rolling clubs, usually down stairs from the tobacconists would be a room that you pay membership to use, which would have a completely unused pool table and several industrial cigarette rolling machines. The type that grinds and bulk rolls hundreds of cigarettes at a time. The mob would have one goombah at the door to check membership. You bought you supplies upstairs, and the mafia let you make your carton of smokes downstairs.

The the ATF gets involved busting down doors and shit. The FDA puts pipes on the radar, and the mafia makes their money and uses it to fund selling fentanyl to children. Oh what a pretty world we live in.
As long as Paulie from The Sopranos isn't running the rolling room they'll probably be ok.


Paulie: You're not gonna believe this. He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. The guy was an interior decorator.

Christopher: His house looked like shit.


🤦🏻‍♂️😂😂😂
 
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sardonicus87

Lifer
Jun 28, 2022
1,402
14,228
37
Lower Alabama
My whole thing is, I don't vote for politicians to tell me or anyone else how to live my life (also big middle finger to their attempts at social engineering), I vote for them to protect the average person from threats too big for the average person to face, like whole ass other countries or mega-corporations.

That's also why I don't vote, because no politician does that. They're all pawns of the mega corporations if they're not some hardcore, dogmatic "this is muh niche cause and I will die on this hill" extremist type. I don't vote against, I vote for, and nobody is worth voting for.

I'm highly against these, what are called "sin taxes". At best, it's social engineering nanny-nagging bs and at worst, it's exploitation of people's addictions... neither of which are good. And the extra, usurious funds taken in are almost NEVER used for the health of people (the whole reason they give to justify the increase, if not explicitly stating they're trying to put an end to the thing in question they're taxing).

I'm an adult that can make his own decisions/choices that doesn't care what choices other adults make so long as those choices only have a real affect themselves. Everything starting to feel like "Demolition Man"...
 
Last edited:
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