Bringing Cigarettes Into the US

RT here.

If you're a smoker, you know how expensive cigarettes are here in the USA. They are much less expensive in Lima. I don't smoke, but I have a friend who does, and he asked me to bring some back with me.

A carton of Marlboro lights cost me 65 sols in Vivanda last week. That calculates down to just under $23. I purchased one carton.

I got secondaried at customs when I got home, and the woman running the x-ray machine asked me how many cigarettes I had in my suitcase. I told her one carton, and she told me to have a nice day.

I asked her what the rule was, telling her I didn't know and 0nly bought one to play it safe. She told me that it recently changed from two cartons down to one (200 cigarettes). I asked what would happen if I had more than one with me.

She said that if I got caught, the customs inspector could send me to pay the duty on any cartons over the first one. The duty, she said, was around $10.25 per carton.

With cigarettes running at least $5 a pack here (more in many states), even with the duty, it could help both support your smoking habit and offset some of the costs of your trip.