What Are You UK Folks Doing Over There !?

[madox07]

I have mentioned in a past thread that my parents were in London this week, and thanks to forum members' suggestions they have found me a tobacco shop. Boy, I kind of wish they didn't ... 25 gr Cabbie's Mixture, 25 grams of some sort of Lakeland that the tobacconist recommended (so we are talking about bulk here, which is supposed to be less expensive, right?), and two packs of Senior Service yields a grand total of GBP 43. I almost choked when I heard, what the hell is going on over there???? GPB 13 for a pack of fags? GPB 20 for 50 gr. of bulk tobacco? I am afraid to ask what's the price of a tin ...

 

[paulfg]

buying online is cheaper (as it is everywhere) approximately £14.50 for 50 grams bulk 15.50 tins
I know you are not in America but that is why I keep saying "enjoy the prices while you can" to our US posters

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

@madox07, generally prices on pipetobacco in UK are still little cheaper than here or in Sweden/Norway,

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

London can be more expensive (depending on where the shop was) high rents on fashionable streets etc.
I pay £14-£15 a tin from my local tobacconist and the same online.
Cigarettes are £9-£13 depending on brand.

Chris.

 

[3rdguy]

I ship a lot to the UK as it is cheaper to buy in the US even with the International shipping.

 

[lawdawg]

Even here in the U.S., prices at a Brick and Mortar store are much higher than online prices. I would anticipate, as another member stated above, that online prices in the U.K. would probably be less expensive than B&M prices, just like here in the U.S.

 

[warren]

If one is looking for inexpensive (cheap?) do not go to one of the richest cities in the world. One goes to slums and tenements, third world countries, to find cheap. A wee bit of research should remove the "surprise!" element.

Which is not to say that bargain can't be found in NYC or London. There are a few less expensive, up-scale restaurants in Paris.

 

[mso489]

Big city rent (forget a mortgage) is astronomical everywhere. I'd probably be a once-a-week bowl smoker if I lived in London or Paris. Or San Francisco or Manhattan.

 

[danimalia]

London is a wonderful city. One of the finest I've ever been to. You cannot walk a single block without seeing or experiencing something amazing, and for someone who grew up on the West Coast of the United States where everything is relatively new, it is quite an amazing place. It is very expensive in general, though, except for the gov't museums which are free. I actually wasn't smoking when I went, but I remember the prices were very high and you see a lot more people hand-rolling cigarettes there than here in the U.S. Even the more expensive/high-tobacco tax places in the U.S. pale in comparison when it comes to tobacco prices.

 

[jaytex1969]

Big city rent (forget a mortgage) is astronomical everywhere. I'd probably be a once-a-week bowl smoker if I lived in London or Paris. Or San Francisco or Manhattan.

I recall a craigslist posting in San Francisco ten years ago or so.

A fellow had marked out a 4x8 foot spot on his floor with duct tape.

He was offering that spot for rent for $800 a month. Bathroom and kitchen privileges were specified to a defined hour in the morning and evening.

Ahh, the good life....

 

[anotherbob]

wait till you pay for a large pizza and find out that large and pizza are two other words that must mean something different in English English versus American English...

 

[warren]

Really? Go to London and order pizza? Really? Might as well stay in the US and order pizza. Curry? Yes! Roast beef? For sure! By all means fish and chips but, pizza in London? Unfathomable.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Y

wait till you pay for a large pizza and find out that large and pizza are two other words that must mean something different in English English versus American English...

Yes the portion sizes do look a lot larger in the US, from the shows I've seen on the telly they do anyway.
I remember my cousin telling me when they went to America a few years ago she ordered an extra large soda and it was HUUUGE! Like a bucket she said.
Now obviously that's a little hyperbolic but she said the difference in portion sizes between the 2 countries was very noticeable, I suppose it's just what you become used to and anything different can come as a bit of a surprise.
Another thing I've noticed is how cheap the fast food restaurants are in America, from what I can gather it looks about half what we pay in England.

Chris.

 

[warren]

On the plus side in Europe McDonalds is usually Irish beef. You're damned lucky! The difference in portion size also manifests itself in waist sizes. I believe we have the English soundly defeated in the battle for obesity leadership.

 

[oldmooner]

I was stationed in England with the USAF during the 1964-1967 timeframe and it was wonderful!! I lived in a small town called Ampthill, Beds (Bedfordshire). I learned most of what I know of pipes and pipe smoking while there. There was a "tobacconist" in almost every village and you could (of course) smoke in all the pubs at that time. I visited London while there and went nuts buying pipes and tobacco. At that time Dunhill was not known all that well except for the Londoners and then mainly for table lighters and cigarette cases of silver. I think everything went South about the time England joined the European Union. Like everywhere else these days, "zealots" who know what is best for the rest of us have taken over. It is so sad to see such a wonderful country go down the tubes and become a "Nanny" state. I am glad I am so old because it looks as though I will soon be an outlaw. When the state tells me I can't smoke my pipe in my own home and car I will become a fugitive in the country of my birth. P.S. I also believe strongly in the 2nd amendment.

 

[David_Lawrence]

Cigarettes are obscenely expensive here in Britain, certainly, and rolling tobacco is pretty outrageous too—all my cigarette smoking friends switched to roll-ups, mostly due to the cost but also the taste - incidentally, people tend to use the little 'foam' filter tips these days which is a relatively new trend.

Pipe tobacco on the other hand I found to be surprisingly reasonable (in a relative sense of course) as 25g/1oz approx tends to cost around £7.50 or £14 for 50g/2oz which is little more than a twenty deck of cigarettes and will last much longer than a pack of fags.

Maybe it's because I'm a (Londoner?) new pipe smoker and tend to smoke once a day, possibly twice, so every purchase I make will last me a long long time and thus it seems like a decent price.

On the topic of our laws, I can imagine smoking in public being outlawed in my lifetime (I'm 34) which would be egregious for sure but it'll never be banned within your home, that's a tad drastic! I fervently disagree with our laws on consumption anyway so the tobacco targeting is just another brick, y'know?

 

[canadianpuffer]

At least you don’t live in Australia! Go on their b&m websites and pick you jaw off the floor lol here in Canada they aren’t great either. $45-55 for a 50g tin - but I don’t often buy locally. UK prices look good to me!