Why did cigarettes get 25% cheaper?

[cdnmatt]

Does anyone by chance have the answer to this little riddle? Confirmed with Leo, and I'm still getting the same type of cigs as I always get ("lm dang saawng lek").

For a long while they were 75 baht/pack. Then after that new alcohol tax took effect recently, they jumped up to 80 baht, as expected. However, for the last few days they for some reason have dropped to 60 baht.

Anyone know what happened? Is anyone experiencing the same? Or did all the shop owners in this local area maybe get their hands on some boxes of cigs that fell off a truck? Or???

[joe552]

I give up Matt. Why did cigarettes get cheaper? What's dang saawng lek?

[cdnmatt]

I don't know, that's why I'm asking.

It's Thai, as I don't know the English. I guess English would be "LM Red Lights".

[sglad]

It's Thai, as I don't know the English. I guess English would be "LM Red Lights".

"lm dang saawng lek" - literally, L&M Red pack small

Saawng here is used as a classifier. In English, a small pack of L&M Reds.

[latintopxxx]

its a plot...a plot to get more thais smoking so the government doesnt have to pay out their pensions..

[sglad]

its a plot...a plot to get more thais smoking so the government doesnt have to pay out their pensions..

Most Thais don't have pensions. Civil servants do and some big companies might offer private pensions for high-ranking employees.

The Thai pension system is their family.

[cdnmatt]

"lm dang saawng lek" - literally, L&M Red pack small

Saawng here is used as a classifier. In English, a small pack of L&M Reds.



Right, but "saawng lek" and "saawng yai" are the exact same size, or at least I think they are. Maybe I'm wrong, and "yai" is a slightly bigger.

Nonetheless, in Canada you don't say "duMaurier Small", but instead say "duMaurier Light", hence why I translated it like that. It's more translatable for native English speakers that way.

[neddy3]

its a plot...a plot to get more thais smoking so the government doesnt have to pay out their pensions..

Hope not!
My preferred type of Thai boy is a non-smoker, amongst other attributes.

Let's not get into another smoking/no smoking argument.

Just stating my preference, but the right boy who smokes can get lucky.
(If you call spending time with me getting lucky!)

[christianpfc]

Did you count how many cigarettes are in a pack?

In Germany, we have cookies "Knoppers" which were 2.39 EUR for 250 g, but not they are 1.89 EUR for 200 g (a poor example as the price per gram is almost the same).


...the same type of cigs as I always get ("lm dang saawng lek").
A case where spelling, even upper and lower case, is important for understanding. I interpreted it as "I'm dang saawn lek" and couldn't make any sense of it, only later when you wrote "L&M". In the default font, "I" (upper case i) and "l" (lower case L) look the same, but when I write this post (in font Courier), different!

[cdnmatt]

No, wasn't asking the difference between "lek" and "yai" packs.

Was wondering why the price all of a sudden dropped by 25% in the past ~5 days? I've never heard of the price of alcohol or cigs dropping. It's always the other way, and they get more expensive.

Any other smokers in Thailand that can confirm? Or is just my local area?

Leo needs to run some errands today anyway, so I'll have him buy some cigs at a 7/11 or Tesco or something, and see how much they cost there.

[arsenal]

Neddy3 wrote.
Just stating my preference, but the right boy who smokes can get lucky.
(If you call spending time with me getting lucky!)

He's a small business Neddy3 so if he has a decent customer who doesn't abuse him, treats him well and then pays him the agreed amount for the service then I do think he's lucky because the competition from the 1000s of other mb small businesses is immense. Most boys don't get offed most nights, even in high season.

PS.
What happened to Neddy1 and Neddy2? You didn't bump them off in order to get their coveted membership of this board did you?

[neddy3]

No! Nothing so bizarre.

However, they have passed on.
They were fatalities of crashes of this board years back now.

[newalaan2]

Does anyone by chance have the answer to this little riddle? Confirmed with Leo, and I'm still getting the same type of cigs as I always get ("lm dang saawng lek").

For a long while they were 75 baht/pack. Then after that new alcohol tax took effect recently, they jumped up to 80 baht, as expected. However, for the last few days they for some reason have dropped to 60 baht.

Anyone know what happened? Is anyone experiencing the same? Or did all the shop owners in this local area maybe get their hands on some boxes of cigs that fell off a truck? Or???

Matt is this based on you buying one pack one time or more than one pack from different shops? If a one-off....could just be an error. Just checked with bf who has a shop in his village just north of KK and L&M deang for a 20 pack are Bt80. But he mostly has to break the packs and sell ciggs in 2s 4s 6s because the 20-packs are now simply too expensive for Issan farmworkers. The positive side is, they smoke less.

Likewise Lao Khao he sells twice the amount of single-shots over the counter than he used to. He still sells plenty of small and large Lao Khao bottles, but lots more shots. All small village shops have shot glasses under the counter for such purposes.

[cdnmatt]

Thanks Newalaan. Yeah, Leo bought some in town today, and they were 80 baht there as well.

No, wasn't a one-off mistake, as it's happened several times now. Even questioned the one store owner, "isn't it 80 baht?", to which he said, "no, no, only 60 baht". There's three little shops in my area that I can walk to myself, and all three are currently at 60 baht.

Alright, so I'm assuming mafia or similar was recently around selling boxes of cigs that fell off a truck, and it triggered a bit of a price war on my little street. Huh, weird.

[Smiles]

Thanks Newalaan. Yeah, Leo bought some in town today, and they were 80 baht there as well.

No, wasn't a one-off mistake, as it's happened several times now. Even questioned the one store owner, "isn't it 80 baht?", to which he said, "no, no, only 60 baht". There's three little shops in my area that I can walk to myself, and all three are currently at 60 baht.
Alright, so I'm assuming mafia or similar was recently around selling boxes of cigs that fell off a truck, and it triggered a bit of a price war on my little street. Huh, weird.
I'm a little less intellectual and a lot less forgiving regarding smoking in general ~ much less smoking costs ~ than Newalaan ... who is a nice guy, a great writer, and his posts (to you) is/are of a nice piece, in this instance.
But probably a lot less loved seeing as how the stats on gay folks smoking their lives away is pretty bloody horrendous.

But nice calming talk to CndMatt, who is obviously bordering on psychotic (SEE: all his posts over the last 4 months, and most of his posts since time immemorial. Check it out: 3+ dogs well-fed; numerous boyfriends-never-kept, numerous ideas - never-kept - on where to live; has gone blind but is a great cook; calls his latest love an idiot and a genius in the same same sentence; is apparently about to adopt two Lao boys who are 10 years old already . . . Christ I could go on and on.)

And I'm not even getting harsh yet:
Cndmatt, you've been whining like a newborn baby girl for a year now regarding your unworkable blinkers ... 50% of of the members here don't believe a word of it. (I'm one of 'em, no surprise ther). And now you're whining like a blind newborn baby regarding the fucking cost of cigarettes. Do you not have any sense of uber-needy ridiculousness what so ever?
Really ... does anyone give a flying fuck about the cost of fags? Anyone?? And if they do, who cares?

Can you guess? I am so bloody tired of Cndnatt's life in Thailand.

[cdnmatt]

What crawled up your ass? Really, what went through that degrading mind of yours and compelled you to believe wasting your time and energy writing that post was a good idea? If you don't like me, put me on ignore, and move on with your life.

Or if you want to use me as a stress reliever, go for it. Don't expect me to give a shit though.

Ok, few points:

No, not whining about the price of cigs. Just curious if anyone knew why they all of a sudden dropped by 25%, but apparently it's only in my local area.

No, I don't really whine about being blind. Yes, I do mention is quite a bit, because as it so happens, it's a pretty important aspect of my life nowadays.

Yes, blind people can cook. Youtube "Christine Ha" -- she's blind, and went on to win the whole competition. On the hlip side, you can Youtube the name "Tommy Edison" -- he's blind as well, and is too scared to even use a spatula and frying pan, so just sticks with his George Foreman grill because it cooks things on both sides. Sorry, but I'm not willing to eat like that for the rest of my life.

[Smiles]

One small item only: I never put anyone On Ignore. I especially enjoy reading the rantings of the psychotic on message boards.

[scottish-guy]

You'll have plenty of reading material from a variety of posters on here then

:p

[cdnmatt]

One small item only: I never put anyone On Ignore. I especially enjoy reading the rantings of the psychotic on message boards.



Fine, don't put me on ignore then. You don't need to be a dick though.

If you're that stressed out, go to the gym, and take it out on a punching bag, not your fellow human.

[francois]

Stop smoking and drinking, matt, it is addling your brain.

[bkkguy]

Likewise Lao Khao he sells twice the amount of single-shots over the counter than he used to. He still sells plenty of small and large Lao Khao bottles, but lots more shots. All small village shops have shot glasses under the counter for such purposes.

yet when 7-11 in Chinatown started selling draft beer by the glass all the do-gooders in Bangkok got so upset claiming it would destroy Thai morals and everyone would be driving drunk etc!

bkkguy

[cdnmatt]

Yeah, I know I need to quit smoking, and will work on that.

Think I have the drinking thing down now though. Think it's been about a week since my last drink, and several times in the past while I went over a month without a drink. There's been several times now where I've run into people I haven't seen in a good while, and they compliment me on how good I look these days. :) Not that I'm good looking, just look much healthier.

I can't drink anymore anyway. Otherwise, I'll probably run us into the ground financially again, and Leo will end up leaving me, because I'll leave him no other option. We're getting onto a pretty decent footing financially again, so best to just stick with green tea, and keep this little trend going.

[francois]

Cigs are cheaper than booze, so good for you matt even though they will kill you.

[newalaan2]

50% of the members here don't believe a word of it,

Really ... does anyone give a flying fuck about the cost of fags? Anyone?? And if they do, who cares?
Can you guess? I am so bloody tired of Cndnatt's life in Thailand.

What a luscious slow burn of a post, you can even feel the restrained almost forced, polite calmness in the build up to............the above last two lines! 555.

Are you sure it's as low as 50% disbelievers? I thought I was in, the about 10% of believers...of which I am firmly, and look forward to providing the truth of matt and Leo's KK existence one of these trips....if he's still up for a short meet up. By coincidence we may actually have a full day in KK City in Feb, first time for a while as I plan to fly up this time 'cause there's business to attend to in the 'big city'. Not sure if matt will still be living there though, hope he is, would love a meet up as he seems a contented, genuine guy.

Like you i'm not a smoker, never have been and can't stand it around me, however I feel those who do are perfectly entitled to shorten their lives by their chosen method provided they don't impact those around. But in the SGT tradition-of-old where info exchange is a basic given, and having the access to second.... almost.....first hand info on Thai fag and booze brands due to bf operating a shop in his village for last 4-5 years I felt compelled to respond to matts desperate plea for pricing clarity.

A word of caution to matt though (if he hasn't already considered it).....if these fags have fallen off the back of a lorry and/or are original L&M packaged ciggs....'all's well' as far as you are concerned, however if they have come from the same plant as the dangerously lethal perfectly presented bottles of counterfit Johnny Walker whisky I witnessed being produced on youtube which really CAN blind, then the perfectly copied packet may contain even more deadly cargo inside than simply tobacco, and you might well be puffing cheap toxic, poisonous god-knows-what mixed in with tobacco to plump up the copy-ciggs. It is Thailand...

[joe552]

newalaan makes a good point. I don't know if this is true where you are, Matt, but here in Ireland the major drug dealing gangs import genuine and fake cigarettes and tobacco to fund their drug trade. These cigarettes are readily available on the street in Dublin city centre.

[cdnmatt]

@NewAllan -- Sure, you're one of the few members I'm willing / want to meet. Well, that and it would be REALLY nice to finally shut everyone else up. :)

Can't promise I'll be here though. Was planning Jan 5th, but more than likely that will be delayed until Feb 5th now. Never say never, and I guess always a chance we'll delay again until Mar 5th, but wouldn't really count on it.

Nonetheless, just ensure to schedule in advance if you're coming. I'll need to ensure Leo is here, and not in Laos, as I need him as a guide to get around town.

[dinagam]

Jan 5th, Feb 5th, Mar 5th - in Thai it goes something like hahaha.....555.

[Smiles]

What a luscious slow burn of a post, you can even feel the restrained almost forced, polite calmness in the build up to............the above last two lines! 555.
... Are you sure it's as low as 50% disbelievers? I thought I was in, the about 10% of believers...

Your phrase "A luscious slow burn" will live long. I wish I had of written that. :D

As for 'true-disbelievers' being at 50% ... well you can put that down to message board exaggerated poetic licence.
No poll has been done on that topic but I'd be willing to bet you a bottle of Black Label the exact percentage is much more than a 10'er.

[sglad]

Nonetheless, in Canada you don't say "duMaurier Small", but instead say "duMaurier Light", hence why I translated it like that. It's more translatable for native English speakers that way.

Uh-huh and I just got off the phone with Ryan Gosling two minutes ago. He was begging, BEGGING me to go to bed with him...and he's Canadian too.

[sglad]

jan 5th, feb 5th, mar 5th - in thai it goes something like hahaha.....555.

555555555555555! Damn, I wish I had thought of that! :lol:

[joe552]

Matt, take no notice of the unbelievers. They're just jealous of the life you've made for yourself in Thailand, soon to be replicated in Laos. You're obviously a reasonably successful entrepreneur, who will likely flourish in Vientiane.

So why the fuck do you care about a 20Bt price difference on your cigarettes?

[sglad]

Matt, take no notice of the unbelievers. They're just jealous of the life you've made for yourself in Thailand, soon to be replicated in Laos. You're obviously a reasonably successful entrepreneur, who will likely flourish in Vientiane.

So why the fuck do you care about a 20Bt price difference on your cigarettes?

Because when you're blowing smoke every bit counts.

[cdnmatt]

Matt, take no notice of the unbelievers. They're just jealous of the life you've made for yourself in Thailand, soon to be replicated in Laos. You're obviously a reasonably successful entrepreneur, who will likely flourish in Vientiane.

So why the fuck do you care about a 20Bt price difference on your cigarettes?



Few points here, and is what leaves me scratching my head a bit considering responses I get, and is most likely why people think I'm a lia. It's as if people are under the assumption I'm bragging about my life, or trying to make others envious, or something. I dare you to go through my post history, and find a post where I was bragging about my life. Closest I can think of is I guess I've said multiple times Leo and myself love each other, but that's just how life is, and by no means meant to make others envious.

Trust me, by no means do I live a life to be envious of, at least not right now. We've had our share of days scrounging around through the change jar, with hopes of affording something for dinner that night. Multiple times I've had to say, "hey honey, I don't know when money is coming again, so if you still have 1000 baht in your wallet, you may want to go back to Laos tomorrow morning, so you don't end up stranded here after your VISA expires with no bus fare.". He's never done it though, and always stuck by my side. For some unknown reason, he simply won't stop believing in me, which only means one thing -- I need to buck up, and do what I know I'm capable of. At the same time, there's been days like today, where we each got a new iPhone. :) Only iPhone 6, but hey, their new to us

Besides, just because I live in Thailand hardly means I'm "living the life", as some seem to imply. Is life really that horrible out West these days? I live in Khon Kaen. It's about the equivalent of living in Letherbridge, Alberta, Canada, or in other words, just another typical, boring city in the world.

We live a comfortable life and everything, and are finally on firm financial footing again. As long as I stay away from the bottle, I'm certain that trend will only continue upwards. Nonetheless, don't ever perceive my posts as me bragging about "living it up", because that's just not true. We're have our struggles, just like 99.5% of the world's population.

However, I can say I'm happy, and I've been through this life enough to know I don't get to say that often, so I guess that's something. :)

[joe552]

Am I the first to throw up?

[cdnmatt]

Ohhh, now what the fuck is your problem?

Jesus christ...

[newalaan2]

Am I the first to throw up?

Throw up at what exactly Joe552?

[gerefan2]

I've been through this life enough to know I don't get to say that often, so I guess that's something. :)

Can I remind you that you are still in your 30’s and, in the real world, no one has been through life “enough” at that age.

[joe552]

Throw up at what exactly Joe552?

Maybe I am being a bit harsh here. There are a number of members who are in long term relationships (yourself included, newalaan) who tell us about their lives from time to time. There are few, if any, who feel the need to post about it every day. I don't understand why Matt feels the need to constantly post about his relationship with Leo, whatever the subject of the thread. Okay, Matt, you've found a good guy (apparently) we know you have plans, we just don't need to hear about it every day (well, I don't)

[gerefan2]

Joe, did he ever mention his Eyesight?

[joe552]

Sorry gerefan, I'm a little bit deaf (have an appointment to go about a hearing aid next week), so he may have done, and I just didn't hear it.

[gerefan2]

Lol ok.

[Smiles]

Because when you're blowing smoke every bit counts.
. . . or as Cndmatt would put it " ... blowing smoke out your ass ...".

NOTICED: The ass thing is an integral part of Cndmatt's literary repertoire.

He's used his favourite one on me in this very topic, his infamous riposte " ... what crawled up your ass ...?" ~~ but in fact he has used this very phrase on many a poster when he cannot think of something more intelligent to say. Over the years I have been accused by him of housing gekos, centipedes, praying mantis's, shrews, and odd-toed ungulates up my ass . . . and then, of all things, inviting me to "get serious".
Oh god ... bloody Canadians. :rolleyes:

[bobsaigon2]

Reading all the latest contributions to SGT this morning, it occurred to me that if anyone wanted to write a novel about sex-tourists and sex-pats, this and similar forums would provide all the material and characters needed for an in depth portrayal of gay life in SE Asia.

There’s the reclusive disabled character,
The aging conservative (c’est moi)
The debauchee(s)
The poseurs/hydras/trolls
The Omniscients
The chronic criticizers
The compulsively argumentative
The viciously vituperative

And actually quite a few normal posters who could be included for the sake of contrast (in so far as “normal” can be applied to any of us).

[Smiles]

I certainly hope I'm not in the 'normal' list. I like all those dudes in the abnormal room.

[bobsaigon2]

I certainly hope I'm not in the 'normal' list. I like all those dudes in the abnormal room.

I prefer to think of you as "unique" rather than "abnormal". :):)

[Manforallseasons]

This thread and the Why don't poor Asians hug thread are simply meant to add to the tapestry of bull shit about the OP.

[sglad]

No, wasn't asking the difference between "lek" and "yai" packs.

Was wondering why the price all of a sudden dropped by 25% in the past ~5 days? I've never heard of the price of alcohol or cigs dropping. It's always the other way, and they get more expensive.

The price reduction occurred in early October, 60 Baht from 72 Baht, and not in the past five days. They reduced the price for the better-selling small pack to get around some manufacturer's tax that is directly proportional to the price of the ciggies. Cigarettes priced 60 Baht and below are taxed lower and the savings is passed on to the consumer. OTOH, the price of the less popular big pack has been raised from 87 Baht to 99 Baht. It took me all but two minutes to walk over to my sexy neighbour's apartment when I saw him puffing away half-naked on his balcony as he tends to do in the evenings (even in this cool weather) to get this bit of info. Surprised that you who live in a Thai village, suburb, sanitarium or whatever couldn't get this info in three days.

[sglad]

Right, but "saawng lek" and "saawng yai" are the exact same size, or at least I think they are. Maybe I'm wrong, and "yai" is a slightly bigger.



No, there is a big pack. Same number of sticks as the small pack - 20 - but they are thicker and bigger apparently. Again, surprised that you don't know this being a regular smoker and having lived in Thailand a long time and all.

[sglad]

No, wasn't a one-off mistake, as it's happened several times now. Even questioned the one store owner, "isn't it 80 baht?", to which he said, "no, no, only 60 baht". There's three little shops in my area that I can walk to myself, and all three are currently at 60 baht.

Alright, so I'm assuming mafia or similar was recently around selling boxes of cigs that fell off a truck, and it triggered a bit of a price war on my little street. Huh, weird.

The price reduction applies to all of Thailand, including all 7-11s and is not a rural or urban thing.

Cigarettes, being small, relatively costly, high-in-demand and highly negotiable items.are not transported in open trucks but in secure bonded vehicles or MPVs And before you say it, yes, this applies in the most rural areas too - cigarette companies are rich and have fantastic distribution networks. As for the mafia fable, well, the Sopranos ended 10 years ago. You need to keep up.

[joe552]

Just for comparison, a pack of cigarettes here in Ireland costs over €10. I'm a heavy smoker, and roll my own - total cost €32 a week

[gerefan2]

Just for comparison, a pack of cigarettes here in Ireland costs over €10. I'm a heavy smoker, and roll my own - total cost €32 a week

Good God ...that would get you to Thailand and back three, YES 3, times a year.

[joe552]

I calculate my annual spend on tobacco is around €1650, the cost of 1 trip to Thailand. So I think you're exaggerating ever so slightly, gerefan

[cdnmatt]

I just calculated my annual spend on cigs, and about $1000/year. Not cheap, but not expensive either.

Really stupid way to slowly commit suicide though. Really need to stop.

[joe552]

I plan to stop smoking round about the time I quit drinking.

[bobsaigon2]

With me, it's somewhat the opposite. If I stopped smoking, I would have to start drinking. No choice.

[neddy3]

I plan to stop smoking round about the time I quit drinking.

Good luck with that!

[gerefan2]

I calculate my annual spend on tobacco is around €1650, the cost of 1 trip to Thailand. So I think you're exaggerating ever so slightly, gerefan

Think you misunderstand. What I am saying is that you can buy 3 return tickets per year to Thailand for those 1650Euros. Cattle Class. If you go Business then of course you,only just get one ticket.

I assume you travel 3 rd Class.

[joe552]

My calculation was the total cost of the holiday - flights, accommodation, booze and boys.

[gerefan2]

Yes I thought so, but not what I said initially!

[joe552]

Yes, gerefan, I see that - but what would be the point of having 3 tickets to Thailand and no money to spend when I'm there?

[scottish-guy]

..you can buy 3 return tickets per year to Thailand for those 1650Euros. Cattle Class. If you go Business then of course you,only just get one ticket.

I assume you travel 3rd Class.

On China Southern you mean?

That's a different member

:p