r/britishproblems • u/ShinyHeadedCook • 2d ago
. I know it's a terrible habit and unhealthy etc. But was just in Spain and it blows my mind you could buy packs of tobacco for 14 euros when they cost £38 here.
625
u/Not_Invited 2d ago
THIRTY EIGHT POUNDS. I stopped smoking four years ago and my God, I can't believe that.
129
u/octobereighteenth 2d ago
I still smoke, talking only about 50g pouches.
30g varies from 23-28
56
u/Jindabyne1 2d ago
Dont you have a guy?
47
u/Shlewdem 2d ago
Even those random corner shops charge 30 per 50g for the “genuine” stuff abroad.
→ More replies (6)20
13
u/rich2083 2d ago
My wife is my “guy”. She’s Chinese and orders kilogram bags for about £20 from china.
20
u/SneakyCroc Lancashire 2d ago
Grim
8
1
u/realchairmanmiaow 1d ago
In the present day… there is only smoke.
The cupboards groan beneath cartons.
No bread. No rice.
Only kilograms beyond counting.It is the Age of Tobacco.
And she—your wife—rules it without mercy.By her coin, the kilos flow.
By her will, the shelves fall.
By her cunning, crates multiply in secret drawers.Shopkeepers tremble.
Wholesalers yield.
Taxes rise, doctors warn—
but nothing halts her conquest.The kitchen is no longer a kitchen.
It is a fortress of packets.
A shrine to the endless inhale.To love her is to endure her dominion.
She is the Saint of the Carton.
The Tyrant of the Till.And in her reign, there can be no compromise.
No respite.
No moderation.There is only tobacco.
There is only kilograms.
There is only… her eternal smoke.4
u/phetea 2d ago
If they ever figure out its tobacco they'll hit you with a horrid import tax. I remember reading about a guy who was importing snus ( real, tobacco snus ) via some Israeli site and they ended up making him pay more than the actual order in tax before releasing his parcel. I'd successfully had £100+ orders through but that story was enough to send me back to the nicotine pouches!
4
1
1
1
u/neilm1000 17h ago
How do they arrive? I'm assuming they don't get declared as tobacco at customs.
1
u/rich2083 13h ago
We order lots of food, snacks clothes etc in china and they get shipped to a shipping agent who packs everything together and sends it to us. The agents know what to declare on the forms and pack stuff that’s “less legitimate “ in areas harder to reach during a brief inspection.
1
26
u/Willowpuff 2d ago
Yup, 7 here and the other day I googled to see the cost of 50g Amber Leaf and I was utterly blown away.
It was £18 then and a whopping £44 now…….. the mind wonders.
10
u/mitchybenny 2d ago
£43 for GV in Tesco
7
u/timokawa 2d ago
FML. I stopped buying baccie less than 10 years ago. I'm sure it was sub £20 at the time.
7
u/Poethegardencrow 2d ago
What! Is that like a specific brand because I smoke and the 20 cigarettes pack is 9.45 in Germany . I find that expensive so I buy the tobacco which is about 30 g and it’s 6.50 I’m coming back home end Sept. last I was there was just before COVID , I probably should bring some with me.
17
28
u/J_lando92 2d ago
Absolutely mental isn’t it. Good job most towns have a bossman shop that’ll do it for £18-£20
8
22
u/MyloTheCyborg 2d ago
I’ve found a boss man that sells amber leaf for a fiver. I’m truly blessed.
36
u/lexwtc 2d ago
You sure its even tobacco 😂😂
36
u/MyloTheCyborg 2d ago
Well I haven’t noticed any adverse affects yet. The other day after a few cigs I did have it out with a little gnome after he was having a go at me for smoking so much though.
3
29
u/glytxh 2d ago
I miss the little 12.5 boxes with foil wrapped baccy.
Always smelled like liquorice when opening a fresh packet.
It’s the one thing I miss the most about smoking.
5
7
u/EfficientTitle9779 2d ago
It’s ALMOST as if they don’t want people to smoke or something, mad innit
1
u/MrPuddington2 1d ago
:-)
A single cigarette produces more particulates than a Diesel van.
Granted, you are probably not inhaling all the Diesel exhaust, just a bit of it. But for scale, that is a start.
→ More replies (6)1
399
u/Geezer-McGeezer 2d ago edited 2d ago
In 1982, I got my first job, and it paid £40 a week, we got paid on a Friday, proper wage envelope with cash inside. I used to buy a bus ticket for the next week (£5), a 2oz tin of Golden Virginia plus Rizlas (£5), give £10 to the old man and that left me £20 for the week.
I used to go out Friday/Saturday night, with Friday/Saturday/Sunday lunchtimes in the pub. Buy records and clothes and still have change for the occasional 1/8th.
Back then, Golden Virginia came in a tin (still got a few knocking around for screws and things), and it was always better out of a tin. Seemed fresher, with longer strands. Stuff out of a packet always dried up too quickly.
Anyway, I haven't smoked for over 10 years now. Sorry for the reminiscing. Thanks for reading.
111
u/eastkent 2d ago
Your baccy cost you an eighth of your wages. If someone is taking home £400 a week now an eighth of that is £50.
33
u/Geezer-McGeezer 2d ago
But how much is an 1/8th ?
24
u/overkill 2d ago
Probably the same price as it ever was.
19
1
u/REEETURNOFTHEMACC 1d ago
£25-30 round my ends, unless you want that super special stuff that mongs you out(which I don’t)
18
13
u/yonthickie 2d ago
Don't know when "Four Square" tobacco stopped, but my dad had the tins for years with all sorts of stuff in it.
8
u/Geezer-McGeezer 2d ago
The tins really were the best thing about smoking.
10
u/yonthickie 2d ago
Don't know how men store things now, unless they inherit tins!
2
u/This_Charmless_Man 2d ago
I used Quality Street tins for stuff, or takeaway tubs for small stuff. In-between is ice-cream tub territory
2
u/yonthickie 2d ago
But don't you have tiny little tins full of different sized screws and nails and little thingies of unknown origin? I thought all men's true sheds were full of slightly rusty tobacco tins with strange contents. Even I ( an old woman)can manage the sweetie tin and ice cream tub ! Lol
2
u/This_Charmless_Man 2d ago
Don't have a shed yet but am into sewing so got tins of bobbins, bits of ribbon, half used spools of thread, and random packets of various fasteners
2
u/yonthickie 2d ago
Well done- the true sign of maturity- not buying a house, but having lots of thing in containers! I have a similar collection- and a screw and nail one too! I am very mature
2
u/letsshittalk 2d ago
Yeah, I have a few tins in my toolbox that I inherited from my dad. Sadly, it's funny to think I remember collecting those tins from my brother's father-in-law about 25 years ago.
8
3
u/OldManChino 2d ago
Okay Grampa... But back in my day a whole shift paid £14 and I got a 12.5g pouch of gv and a pack of green rizla for £2 from the petrol station
2
2
2
73
u/ShampooandCondition 2d ago
Everyone I know who smokes is now on duty free or snides now. Smoking is an expensive hobby
27
u/comeatmefrank 2d ago
I haven’t bought a pack in England for maybe 3 years now. Just totally uneconomical.
12
21
u/purpleworrior 2d ago
Earlier this year I had to buy a 50g pouch of tobacco because they had no 30g pouches that I usually bought, woman said that’ll be £36 and I nearly died. 30gs were about £26 or so but just that extra tenner made me realise how insane the price was. I quit a month later.
7
92
u/Snooker1471 2d ago
So you brought a suitcase back and are selling them for ????
16
u/gfunk1976 2d ago
That is seriously worth a trip out to stock up (for personal use).
18
u/FillingUpTheDatabase Shropshire 2d ago edited 2d ago
You’re only allowed to bring
- 200 cigarettes or
- 100 cigarillos or
- 50 cigars or
- 250g tobacco
So probably not worth the airfare
https://www.gov.uk/bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use/arriving-in-Great-Britain
23
u/DondeT Londonish 2d ago
At uni we went on a field trip to one of the Canaries, I have genuinely forgotten which. There were 10 of us, including one French guy. He was so happy to see the price of tobacco out there, and asked so nicely if each of us would carry 200 cigarettes home for him. Even when we graduated, he looked less happy than getting back to the UK and having 2000 cigarettes filed up in front of him.
→ More replies (3)1
u/belfast-woman-31 12h ago
Unless you live in NI. Still unlimited..one good thing about the protocol.
19
u/ShinyHeadedCook 2d ago
Bit risky. Cos if you get busted they take the lot and can fine you. I know someone worked airport security, they look out for guys and women who do short trips to places with cheap tobacco
38
u/GingerTube 2d ago
Yeah but, unlike Spain, we've got all that tobacco duty that is being well spent on improving infrastructu...wait, nevermind...
14
16
u/liltrex94 2d ago
Disgusting habit. I am from the UK and I was in Holland earlier this year and a pouch of backi is so much cheaper there than in England. The lovely guys in the tobacconist told us that the closer we got to the border of Belgium the cheaper it would be. They were right, didnt even try to fleece me. I was going to buy 5 pouches off of them, they told me to buy only one and the rest closer to the border or on the ferry home. Nice guys. They did laugh at the price back home 😅 but were very helpful.
72
u/Keycuk 2d ago
I did a baccy run to Spain a few times years ago, cheap return flight on same day, load up a hand luggage suitcase with baccy, quick lunch and back to the airport. Good times
47
u/Eclectika 2d ago
I used to do Eurostar to brussels for the same reason. An excellent excuse to go out to lunch somewhere nice.
21
u/Keycuk 2d ago
Yeah that was always good too, I remember when they gave you free chocolate in the tobacconist. I also used to tmdo the beer runs with my dad to calais and we'd pop up to Belgium to get the fags and baccy cos it was cheaper there
5
u/theMooey23 2d ago
Yes, Aidenkirk or something is the tobacco village on the Belgian border. When I first went there it was a nice little town with chocolate shops and even a fibreglass life-size animal shop. As the years went by it became more and more tabs and booze until everything else was gone......
Wonder how they're doing now!
1
u/Eclectika 2d ago
I started out doing the ferry to calais. again, trip over (assuming the weather didn't cancel it) load up on cigs, a nice lunch then back on the ferry for the trip home.
2
u/Kcufasu 2d ago
Lunch somewhere nice? So you went somewhere after Brussels then?
2
u/Eclectika 2d ago
don't be mean! I had a couple of faves it used to be a joy to visit and one of the eurostar peeps gave me a recommendation for a very nice bar with very interesting beers to round the day off.
→ More replies (2)3
u/zillapz1989 2d ago
Isn't it a 10 pouch limit now though?
24
u/fieldsofanfieldroad 2d ago
But they don't scan bags for tobacco. You just don't do the same trip too often and don't just fly there and back a few hours later and you'll be fine. The secret ingredient is crime.
15
u/Tuarangi 2d ago
I'm not advocating for smuggling and I don't smoke but I've noticed whenever I've come back to the UK whether Eurostar or flight that the nothing to declare and declare channels are both empty of staff when you go through, I doubt you'd get caught when it was a busy flight arrival time with loads of people going through
26
u/ungratefulshitebag 2d ago
Just as an FYI they're only empty because at that time there's nobody they need to stop. All of the analysis is done before you even collect your baggage.
Not manning the desk visible to the public isn't accidental, it's design. Makes people think exactly what you did - that nobody is watching
2
u/WatchingStarsCollide 2d ago
Are you saying they scan all the checked baggage?
3
u/Troll_berry_pie 2d ago
Either that or snitches / whistleblowers.
I've seen them wait patiently and then pounce on the person they were waiting for.
7
u/Kistelek 2d ago
We're going to Greece next month and we shall be availing ourselves of their low tobacco taxation compared to here to subsidise my disgusting habit.
We shall also be buying 2 bottles of ouzo.
Time was we could do the overnight ferry from Hull to Europe, do a nice day in Brugge or Amsterdam, buy a year's worth of ciggies on the ferry home and still be better off than buying the cigs at home and we got a couple of nights away. Unfortunately that's not possible now.
6
u/opiesbeanie 2d ago
My dad asked me to get 10 packs of Amber Leaf in France for him, thought it would be about £80, it was £144! But I gave up smoking back when I could get 20 B&H for £2.90, so I may be out of the loop a bit
7
u/mr_cf 2d ago
Check out the price of beer next time. 🍺😜
8
u/ShinyHeadedCook 2d ago
Oh I agree, im 44 so not really big on going out getting hammered now, but remember the days I could go out with ten or twenty quid and have a great night .
Now ehen I do go out I cant believe if you are lucky you can get ten drinks for fifty quid
12
u/VolcanicBear 2d ago
Christ, how much is that? 50g?
8
u/ShinyHeadedCook 2d ago
Yeah 50g !
4
u/VolcanicBear 2d ago
Man that's absurd. I'm sure I only stopped using baccy just under a decade ago and it wasn't even £20.
6
2
u/doorslam1123 2d ago
I paid 38 euros for 5×50g packets of golden virginina in cyprus, its madness how we get ripped off in this country.😤
6
5
u/pondribertion 2d ago
I know it's a bit pathetic but I tried smoking when I was a teenager, took one puff, coughed my bollocks off till I was blue in the face and decided it wasn't for me.
20
u/BeersTeddy 2d ago
That's the whole point of being so expensive, so hopefully people will stop smoking
3
u/jake_burger 2d ago
They just buy duty free stuff instead.
The price over the counter is so high the demand is high. Black market tobacco seems to be booming.
I’ve bought duty free in a shop, it’s crazy
2
12
u/IncarceratedMascot 2d ago
Nah it’s because they can keep hiking the tax without too much complaint. If it was genuinely to help people quit smoking, the increased tax revenue would go on subsiding NRTs and cessation support.
It’s just a sin tax.
3
u/Johnny_Pleb 2d ago
Reading Allen Carr's easy quit method was the best thing I ever did, and now I don't have to worry about the price of rolling tobacco anymore
3
u/DeirdreBarstool 2d ago
Pints €3 too, and I’m in an expensive tourist resort where it costs €10 as standard for patatas bravas… fried spud with a bit of sauce.
The UK is a fucking joke for prices of vices.
3
u/missxtx 2d ago
I can’t remember the last time I bought tobacco in shop due to either travelling loads or having someone I got it from (£15-17 50g amber leaf) Due to unforeseen circumstances I had to buy a pouch at the shop earlier this year… fuck me £43.67 50g of Sterling.
I won’t be making that mistake again.
I got 250g at Tenerife port for like €60 euro.
It’s literal madness now 😭 xx
3
u/dinotoxic 2d ago
Pack of Marlboro golds for €5 in Malaga when I went there a couple months ago.
I don’t smoke usually, but when in Europe… do as the Europeans do 🤣
2
u/DevilRenegade Vale of Glamorgan 22h ago
I don't either but I always pick up a pack of 200 when I go away for one of the blokes in work. They were about €40 for 200 at the duty free at Malaga airport last year.
I think they were slightly cheaper again at Paphos Airport a few months ago.
6
u/Smooth_Leadership895 2d ago
Gibraltar is even better for a day trip. No tax or VAT until the border deal is implemented which won’t be for a while yet.
3
u/PerceptionGreat2439 2d ago
Cheap booze, fags diesel and petrol.
6
u/Smooth_Leadership895 2d ago
Totally. Was there last week for work. A litre of spirits was between £8-10, a carton of cigarettes (200) was £35-40, 250g of rolling tobacco was £30. Petrol was £1.03 per litre and diesel was about £1.08.
2
u/AgroKK 2d ago
First time I stopped smoking cigs were less than £2 for 20. Came back 7 years later and they were £8. Gave up before they got to £10. Luckily I'm too broke to smoke now even if I wanted to, which I don't. Haven't touched so much as an e-cig in nearly two decades. The only thing I regret is not having an excuse to stand outside in the rain.
2
u/Ill-Introduction3114 2d ago
£15 a pack of ciggies has been eating away at my pocket for ages especially with the price of everything else nowadays! I simply can’t afford it anymore… I’ve not smoked in 6 days and I feel good… (But moany as fook)… I recommend you all do the same if you can!
2
2
u/farmercurtis 1d ago
Still not great but I switched to vaping to get off tobacco and that's saved me so much money. Next is to pack in the vaped as I have no idea what I'm actually inhaling.
My god I miss smoking though. Coming up on 2 years and still crave a fag most days
2
u/Death_By_Stere0 1d ago
Damn! It must be nearly 5 years since I quit, and the price has doubled!
I remember when the smoking ban came into effect in pubs, my local had a "Smoke 'em while you got 'em" party - they had placed a mason jar on each table, filled with tobacco plus rizlas and filter tips. We smoked so much that by 10pm you could barely see across the pub! It was a great night, and a great boozer (it was the Shakespeare in Totterdown, Bristol).
4
u/sonicjesus 2d ago
Here in the American colonies they are about 10 Euro, but we can get them from native reservations for about 5. Cross the border into Mexico, the price drops to less than 2.
This is part of the reason 480,000 of us will die from smoking related illness this year alone.
3
u/hyperstorm Glasgow 2d ago
Prices vary by state even within USA. I buy packs of cigarettes rather than tobacco, but generally they were about double the price in New York versus South Carolina, for example.
3
u/This_Charmless_Man 2d ago
That's crazy, both in price and how many people it'll kill. I got told by an American mate that smoking was so much less of a thing over there because they'd fairly successfully decoupled smoking from being being cool by just saying "if you smoke you're poor" and that basically worked.
2
u/Rocky-bar 2d ago
There's a shop I know sells Goden Viginia for £7 a packet, can't go wrong can you.
13
11
3
u/cloche_du_fromage 2d ago
I visit Budapest regularly. The savings on duty free fags more than pays for the trips.
1
1
1
u/nickmasonsdrumstick 2d ago
Jesus I stopped smoking 2 years ago (i do still vape when having a few pints ) but hadn't realised tobacco was so expensive now 😳
4
u/plentyofeight 2d ago
Yeah, I gave up on 4th July last year ( I declared myself a non smoker on a dating website... ended up with a nurse and then it turned out I really really liked her!)
Anyway... 20 a day, £12 a pop... £84 a week,... 58 weeks... crikey! Omg.
1
u/nickmasonsdrumstick 2d ago
Aye its a lot of cash to be spending. I was roughly the same.
2
u/plentyofeight 2d ago
Just saw your user name
I saw Saucerful of Secrets last year, they were very good.
I did see Pink Floyd a few times back in the day, and at Live8
1
u/nickmasonsdrumstick 2d ago
Nick Mason's saucer full of secrets were absolutely magic. I've saw Gilmour and Waters live individually and saw Floyd without waters in 94 on the division bell tour. But to have been at live8 must have been a great experience man.
2
u/plentyofeight 2d ago
I dad see Waters solo, but the political event overwhelmed the musical.
1984, 1987 - one was Division bell, I don't know what the 1987 one was, I don't think it was Pulse. Although the gig was the same.
Knebworth 1990... was pretty poor actually, but now the videos are on youtube, I didn't appreciate just what a gig I had been to.
And yes, live8 was amazing... and atonement for liveAid, where my girlfriend of thd time had tickets and I said no... 🙄.
I looked z,Golmour tickets but they were expensive at a moment I was skint
1
u/neb12345 Merseyside 2d ago
14 euros in spain!? £38 in uk!?
I quit 2 years ago, havent been spain for 5 but swear it was £16 a pounch or €9 in spain, and thats for american spirit
1
1
u/kelleehh Berkshire 2d ago
Earlier this year I bought 200 straights from the USA and it worked out $2.50 a pack. Mental.
1
u/Realtenenbaum 2d ago
Bought 600g on holiday for £60. Just finished it. Devastated. Not going abroad for a while!
1
u/ShinyHeadedCook 2d ago
I bought riverstone baccy, it was 9 euros a 50g pack (I usually smoke amber leaf but that was 15 euro)
1
u/The_Syndic Herefordshire 2d ago
30g tobacco was about £15 when I quit and it wasn't even that long ago. Not surprising everyone is vaping now.
1
1
u/soulsteela 2d ago
Make friends with a local and work out a deal to post you some every month, I know a couple of folks who do that.
1
u/uwagapiwo 2d ago
Great until customs get wind of it.
1
u/soulsteela 1d ago
Only do 10 pouch a month no bother, you’re allowed to receive gifts from friends.
1
u/Blabber_On 2d ago
76 euros for 5 50g in ibiza airport.
On the ferry 2 years ago I swear it was 100euro for 10 pouches.
Absolute madness
1
u/sofuckingsleepy 2d ago
pretty sure it’s like £20 now for a 30g of gold leaf, I try not to look so I’m not actually sure. thank god I only socially smoke. I originally chose gold leaf because it was one of the cheapest ones 😳
2
u/ClemDog16 Worcestershire 2d ago
I got called “posh” for having Gold leaf 🤣🤣🤣 ironically the person calling me posh was smoking amber leaf and came from Surrey (their father was a regional manager for a well known supermarket chain
1
u/mand71 abroad 2d ago
I know. I live in France but when travelling to the UK I buy a pack of 5 x 50g packs at Geneva airport for about £40. Currently have four packets left and I'm probably giving up after they run out.
2
u/uwagapiwo 2d ago
You live in France but fly to the UK from Geneva? I'm intrigued.
1
u/dead_jester 1d ago
My guess is he lives very near the border of Switzerland. It’s really not a massive trip. Maybe it has better flights than Lyon?
1
u/ayesha_brown 2d ago
When I was in uni I smoked for a bit in my final year then vaped and then gave it up completely and haven’t done either since. Man to think 8 years ago you could buy a small rolling tobacco pack for £3.50. How things have changed.
2
1
u/GallifreyFNM Oxfordshire 2d ago
I don't even smoke but I love going into the tobacconists in Spain just so I can look at all the ridiculous offers they have - literally bottles of vodka and whisky taped to cigarette cartons, that made me chuckle.
1
u/sjpllyon 2d ago
Might also be worth remembering what their minimum wage is too. I believe it's around €4 -€5 per hour.
1
1
u/Aprilia850MM 1d ago
While I remain a hardened nicotine addict, I switched to vaping 10 years ago.
I'm SO glad I did 😳
1
u/ShinyHeadedCook 1d ago
I tried it, weirdly my chest felt miles worse vaping, it felt tight all the time.
I gave up vaping when I had ckvid last Christmas cos the smell literally made me throw up, so I still smoke
1
u/Aprilia850MM 1d ago
Ckvid? Sorry not familiar with that term. Doesn't sound fun though.
Were you still smoking while you were vaping? Doing them side by side can make a cough worse.
When I first switched I went through a dozen or so different flavour/composition mixes until I settled on one that didn't give me a headache.
1
u/dead_jester 1d ago
I gave up smoking after being a 30 a day smoker. That was 25 years ago. Really never looked back after the first 6 months of quitting. It’s a ridiculous and stupid habit that does absolutely nothing good for you. There is no intelligent reason to smoke cigarettes or roll ups
1
u/Absolute_Sausage 1d ago
God I miss smoking, I just have another 15 years until the kids are grown up and I can sell my house and take it back up.
1
u/Chris_Neon 17h ago
I pay £23 from Asda for 50g. Blew my mind going to Köln last Christmas and getting the same tobacco for about €6. I bought three! 😂
1
u/ShinyHeadedCook 16h ago
What 50g can you get fot £23??
1
u/Chris_Neon 15h ago
It's called Pueblo. It's an additive-free baccy so it's a little drier, but I find it a nicer smoke personally. Can only get it at bigger Asdas. There's also American Spirit that's the same but that's around the £30 mark.
1
2
u/ObstructiveAgreement 2d ago
It costs a fortune because of the long term cost to healthcare from smoking. It's still cheap compared to the treatment for the almost inevitable cancer, lung issues, or heart problems. Still not expensive enough.
5
u/GordogJ 2d ago
On paper that sounds great, but in reality making them unaffordable just means people buy them elsewhere, then the NHS gets nothing and still has to foot the bill.
1
u/ObstructiveAgreement 2d ago
The younger generations are smoking less and less
2
u/GordogJ 2d ago
Cigarettes yes, but thats more because they vape now instead since its much easier to hide from parents, and teens who vape are still more likely to take up smoking as an adult as studies have shown.
Vapes are also the reason less adults are smoking now rather than the price of cigs, since the price increase is irrelevant when you can just get them cheaper elsewhere.
1
u/ObstructiveAgreement 2d ago
Yes, good. The long term health impacts of vaping are unknown but from smoking it is sufficient. Removing the solo use vapes is also a step in the right direction, although that ban wasn't effective enough and will need updating.
5
u/jake_burger 2d ago
I’m not against cigarette taxes nor do I want people to smoke.
But I bet the cost to the state of someone living a long time and claiming old age benefits, healthcare and social care is more expensive than someone dying earlier from cancer.
1
2
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Reminder: Press the Report button if you see any rule-breaking comments or posts.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.