Duty-Free Tobacco Allowance by Country (2026): Cigarettes, Cigars & Heated Tobacco

The number on the duty-free sign is not the number that matters. The tobacco allowance is set by the country you are arriving in, and it ranges from 600 cigarettes in Turkey to none at all in Singapore. The usual figure is 200 — one carton — but a long list of countries sit far above or far below it.

Below is the 2026 allowance for 44 destinations, taken from each country’s own customs authority: cigarettes, cigars, loose and heated tobacco, and the minimum age. After the table: which categories stack, where one carton is already too many, and what happens when you go over. Looking for the airport side instead? See can you bring cigarettes on a plane.

Duty-free tobacco allowance, country by country

Each row is the allowance for an adult arriving by air. “Included” means the country sets one combined limit for all tobacco. Click a country for its full page, with the official source.

Destination	Cigarettes	Cigars	Other tobacco	Minimum age
Americas
United States	200	100 (in addition)	—	—
Canada	200	50	200 g	18
Mexico	20 packs	25	200 g	18
Brazil	10 packs (20 each)	25	250 g pipe tobacco	18
Chile	400 (in addition to cigars and pipe tobacco)	50	500 g pipe tobacco	18
Peru	20 packs	50	250 g loose tobacco	18
Costa Rica	—	—	500 g processed tobacco	—
Dominican Republic	20 packs	25	200 g	—
Jamaica	200	50	230 g	18
Europe
United Kingdom	200	50 (or 100 cigarillos)	250 g	17
European Union (arriving from outside)	200	50 (or 100 cigarillos)	250 g	— (lower tiers in some countries)
Switzerland	250 (cigarettes, cigars or heated tobacco)	included	250 g	17
Norway	200 (visitors)	—	250 g (visitors)	18
Iceland	200	—	250 g	18
Turkey	600	50 (and 100 cigarillos)	250 g cut + 250 g pipe	18
Serbia	50	10 (or 25 cigarillos)	50 g	—
Georgia	200 (per 30 days)	50 (or 50 cigarillos)	250 g	18
Middle East & Africa
United Arab Emirates	200	50	500 g	—
Saudi Arabia	200	—	500 g other tobacco	—
Qatar	400	20	300 g pipe, 500 g raw, 2 kg shisha	—
Bahrain	400 (or heated tobacco sticks)	50	250 g; 250 g pipe; 400 nicotine pouches	18
Kuwait	400	—	—	—
Oman	400	—	—	—
Israel	200	—	250 g in any form	—
Egypt	200	25	200 g	—
South Africa	200 (in addition to cigars and pipe tobacco)	20	250 g	18
Kenya	250 g in total, all forms	included	included	—
Mauritius	250 g	included	included	18
Seychelles	200 (or 250 g)	included	included	18
Asia & Pacific
Japan	200	50	250 g; 10 heat-not-burn packs	—
South Korea	200 (one kind only)	50	nicotine e-liquid up to 20 ml	19
China	400 (declare at 400 or more)	red-channel limit applies	500 g or more: declare	—
Hong Kong	19	1 (25 g)	25 g	18
Taiwan	200	25	1 pound	20
Singapore	0	0	0	—
Thailand	200	250 g cigars or smoking tobacco	—	—
Indonesia	200	25	100 g sliced tobacco	18
Philippines	2 reams	50	250 g pipe tobacco	—
Vietnam	200	20	250 g raw tobacco	18
India	100	—	—	—
Maldives	200	25	250 g	18
Australia	25 (one unopened pack)	25 g	25 g	18
New Zealand	50	50 g	50 g	17
Fiji	200 (or 200 g)	200 g	200 g (chewing tobacco prohibited)	18

That country is not in this table yet. Try the 44 destinations listed above.

Cigarettes, cigars and loose tobacco: do the limits stack?

Most countries give you one tobacco bucket: 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g, or a proportional mix. A few let you carry each category on top of the others.

United States stacks: 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars per person.

Chile stacks: 400 cigarettes, 50 cigars and 500 g of pipe tobacco.

South Africa stacks: 200 cigarettes, 20 cigars and 250 g of cigarette or pipe tobacco.

Turkey lists every category: 600 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars, 250 g of cut tobacco and 250 g of pipe tobacco.

UK picks one: 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 g — or a proportional mix, never all of them.

Georgia mixes within one total, counted per 30 days: 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 50 cigarillos or 250 g, or a combination inside the total.

Heated tobacco, nicotine pouches and e-liquid

Heated-tobacco sticks and nicotine products are where customs pages go quiet. Of the countries we cover, only a few name them:

Japan: 10 packs of heat-not-burn tobacco, counted as its own limit alongside 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or 250 g.

Switzerland: 250 cigarettes, cigars or heated tobacco products per person per day.

Bahrain: 400 cigarettes or heated tobacco sticks, or 400 nicotine pouches.

South Korea: nicotine e-liquid up to 20 ml sits inside the tobacco allowance.

Fiji: chewing tobacco is prohibited outright.

Vape devices follow separate rules in most countries — see Can You Bring a Vape on a Plane? Country-by-Country Rules.

Where one carton is already too much

If you buy a carton out of habit, these destinations will make you pay duty on it.

Australia

25 cigarettes

One unopened pack of up to 25 cigarettes, or 25 g of other tobacco, per adult (18+). Go over and you pay duty on all the goods in the category, not just the excess.

Pay on the total

New Zealand

50 cigarettes

50 cigarettes, or 50 g of cigars or tobacco products, or 50 g of a mix. You must be 17 or older.

Strict

Hong Kong

19 cigarettes

19 cigarettes, or one cigar (25 g), or 25 g of other manufactured tobacco, for travellers aged 18 or over. Anything above must be declared and is dutiable.

Strict

Serbia

50 cigarettes

50 cigarettes, or 25 cigarillos, or 10 cigars, or 50 g of tobacco — or a mix.

Small limit

India

100 cigarettes

100 cigarettes per person — half of the usual carton.

Half a carton

Singapore

No allowance

Singapore gives no duty-free concession or GST relief on cigarettes or tobacco. Duty and GST apply even to packs bought in Singapore with the duty-paid mark.

Zero

Where you can bring more than a carton

Turkey: 600 cigarettes on the Foreign Ministry duty-free list — the highest limit in this guide.

Chile, Bahrain, Qatar: 400 cigarettes. Qatar also caps the tobacco at QAR 3,000 in value, with duty charged on the excess.

Kuwait and Oman: up to 400 cigarettes, but not for frequent travellers or anyone crossing the border regularly.

China: 400 cigarettes is the red-channel line — carry 400 or more, or 500 g or more of tobacco, and you must declare.

What happens if you go over the tobacco limit

Going over rarely makes the cigarettes illegal. It means duty, a held bag, or — in a few countries — a fine. The details are specific:

Australia: duty on the whole category you exceeded.

Singapore: everything is taxed, and unpaid duty is an offence.

Thailand: bringing more than the limit is treated strictly and can bring heavy fines.

Maldives: anything above the limit is held by Customs for up to 30 days — collect it at the departure terminal.

UAE: customs duty is charged on the excess.

Egypt: the quantity you buy as a tourist is recorded in your passport.

Before you fly — checklist

Tobacco allowances change, and each customs authority has the final word. Always confirm the current limit with the customs agency of the country you are entering before you travel. Updated 2026.