How to Mix Cigarettes, Cigars and Other Tobacco Within One Allowance
A passenger tobacco allowance can be split between different types of tobacco. The listed quantity for each type represents a full allowance on its own; it is not an additional amount that can be added to every other full quantity.
For the routes covered here, the calculation is proportional. Work out the share used by each product, then add the shares. If the total is 100% or less, the quantities fit within one tobacco allowance, assuming the other conditions for personal goods are met. If the total is more than 100%, the allowance has been exceeded.
Which Routes Use This Calculation?
The fixed tobacco allowances described here apply to travellers entering Great Britain from outside the UK and travellers entering Northern Ireland from outside the EU. Each route has its own conditions, so establish the destination and where you are travelling from before counting products.
For the cigarette figure in England, Scotland and Wales, read the Great Britain cigarette allowance. For the corresponding Northern Ireland route, see arriving in Northern Ireland from outside the EU.
This percentage method should not be applied automatically to qualifying personal tobacco carried from an EU country into Northern Ireland. That route has different rules, explained in our guide to EU tobacco brought into Northern Ireland.
The Full-Allowance Quantities
For the relevant fixed-allowance routes, each of these represents 100% of one person’s tobacco allowance:
- 200 cigarettes
- 100 cigarillos
- 50 cigars
- 250 g of tobacco
- 200 sticks of tobacco for electronic heated tobacco devices
Choose one full quantity, or combine portions of several. A carton, box or pouch name is not the unit used in the calculation: count cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, heated tobacco sticks or grams as appropriate.
The percentage formula
For each type, divide the amount carried by its full-allowance amount:
Product’s allowance share = amount carried ÷ full-allowance quantity × 100
Then add the percentages for all tobacco products carried by that traveller. This arithmetic is a way to understand the published split-allowance rule; it does not replace checking the applicable route and current official guidance.
Worked Examples
Cigarettes plus cigars
100 cigarettes use half of the 200-cigarette figure: 50%. 25 cigars use half of the 50-cigar figure: 50%. Together they use 100% of one tobacco allowance.
By contrast, 200 cigarettes plus 50 cigars use 100% + 100% = 200%. Buying them in different shops, or labelling one purchase “duty free,” does not change that total.
Cigarettes plus rolling tobacco
100 cigarettes use 50% of the cigarette allowance. 125 g of tobacco uses 50% of the 250 g tobacco allowance. Together they use 100%.
Be precise about weight. A pouch’s brand or size description is less useful for this calculation than the weight printed on it.
Cigarettes plus heated tobacco sticks
100 cigarettes use 50%. 100 sticks of tobacco for an electronic heated tobacco device use 50% of the 200-stick alternative. Together they use 100%.
This does not create separate 200-cigarette and 200-stick allowances. For the stick-specific explanation, see the heated tobacco passenger allowance.
What Happens When the Combined Share Is Over 100%?
For a route with a fixed personal allowance, exceeding it means the goods must be declared and the applicable tax and duty paid on all goods in the affected tobacco category, not just the amount above 100%. Undeclared goods may be seized.
The allowance belongs to one eligible traveller. You cannot combine several people’s allowances to justify an oversized quantity carried as one person’s goods.
The goods must also be personally transported for the traveller’s own use or to give away as gifts. Travellers under 17 have no personal tobacco allowance.
A Reliable Way to Check Your Luggage
List every tobacco product you are carrying, convert packs and cartons into the relevant number of items or grams, and calculate each share. Add the shares only after confirming that the fixed-allowance rule applies to your route.
The core idea is simple: mix portions of one allowance, not several full allowances. For other UK travel routes and customs questions, explore the tobacco rules hub.