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Hello everyone.

I have been in SE Asia for 25 years and I am moving to Cambodia in September. I have a simple question. I smoke tobacco so can I only get Western brands in the min-marts and if so how much? I have been smoking local Indonesian tobacco here, very, very cheap and decent quality, so can I get local tobacco in the markets in PP, and again for how much?

bobsboots wrote:Hello everyone.

I have been in SE Asia for 25 years and I am moving to Cambodia in September. I have a simple question. I smoke tobacco so can I only get Western brands in the min-marts and if so how much? I have been smoking local Indonesian tobacco here, very, very cheap and decent quality, so can I get local tobacco in the markets in PP, and again for how much?

You can get packs of local stuff for less than 50¢.

25 years?! Why you leaving Indonesia?

The brand I am smoking at this moment is called Cambo and costs .25¢US per pack.
Of course if you're looking for a higher quality lung disease you should buy the more expensive imports at around 4,000 Riel's ($1)
per pack.

I don't think most of the more expensive brands are necessarily imports. There's a big British American Tobacco factory towards Takhmau and several tobacco plantations and processing factories in Kompong Cham where they both grow and make blends. Pretty sure Imperial Tobacco and Philip Morris are also present. I know some people ands like Camel are imported, but I think a lot of the other big name brands are likely locally produced and packaged. Not sure if the blends are the same or as with Coca-Cola, they change it a bit to suit local tastes.

Judging by the packing quality and taste certainly the yellow Camels here are local. 50c a packet. Marlboro, despite being expensive, are made in PI. They all seem a lot lighter than the ones in Europe. Lower tar and nicotine levels

If you mean actual tobacco, as in roll your owns, Drum and Golden Virginia are readily available at around $4.50 for a 50g pack. Local tobacco is a bit rough, but you can get around 1/2 kg for 5000 riel (about $1.25) in the markets.

Interesting, as I remember a friend always trying to get Camels from Europe at the airport or something. I guess they do sell imports which tastes better to him but also made locally. I don't smoke so I'm no expert on what's available, haha.

cptrelentless wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:15 pm Judging by the packing quality and taste certainly the yellow Camels here are local. 50c a packet. Marlboro, despite being expensive, are made in PI. They all seem a lot lighter than the ones in Europe. Lower tar and nicotine levels

Malboro come from all over. My latest are from Indonesia, but quite often from Malaysia, and also Switzerland.When you buy them in SR, they are duty-frees from the airport.
A few years ago I bought a carton of "fake" Malboro at the market in PP, and they were unsmokeable - so I guess local - it was like smoking air.

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2017 3:01 pm

cptrelentless wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:15 pm Judging by the packing quality and taste certainly the yellow Camels here are local. 50c a packet. Marlboro, despite being expensive, are made in PI. They all seem a lot lighter than the ones in Europe. Lower tar and nicotine levels

Malboro come from all over. My latest are from Indonesia, but quite often from Malaysia, and also Switzerland.When you buy them in SR, they are duty-frees from the airport.
A few years ago I bought a carton of "fake" Malboro at the market in PP, and they were unsmokeable - so I guess local - it was like smoking air.

The guy next door to me sells the Swiss Marlboros, lights no less, damn near took my head off after ages of smoking these Winstons. Not even vaguely comparable to the ones you buy in the street.

Thanks for your replies and yes,I did mean rolling tobacco. And to General Mackevili , after 20 years in Jakarta, I need to move to a slightly less hectic place. Immigration here are really cracking down making in very hard to get work permits and the general atmosphere in Jakarta is a little darker. So PP it is...............