Beneath the stalls with fruit, vegetables and second-hand clothing, the Belgrade markets also sell what should not be sold - cut duvan. To buy that tobacco, you have to ask a bit conspiratorially. If sellers don't think you're trustworthy, they'll tell you they don't have it.
In Bylonie you have to know who to ask. When they say that you are not a plainclothes policeman, they say that the price of tobacco is 300 dinars for one hundred grams.
Asking too much will get you back into the grading process, but that's the only way you can tell if the tobacco is "domestic" or "foreign." It's homemade in Bajloni, says the saleswoman. "Excellent, from Ljubovia, not very strong."
Pack of 20 cigarette at the kiosk, it costs about 400 dinars, and 25 grams of legal cut tobacco with excise duty costs 350 dinars. That's almost five times more than the market.
It's about money.
According to the law, in order to produce tobacco, you need to have a registered farm, a minimum area for cultivation and be in the register of producers.
Cultivation for personal use is not allowed. If it is grown legally for purchase, prices range from two to two and a half euros per kilogram, while a dry leaf can reach five euros.
However, you can earn much more illegally on the market. On Zeleni venc, sellers are quite open. Tobacco has its variants: "stronger", "weaker", "medium". They recommend Mostar, although they say they also have Macedonian, which is less popular.
"This one from Mostar is the best that can be found in Belgrade," says the saleswoman, offering already wrapped cigarettes - 20 pieces are 150 dinars.
Miroslav from Belgrade has been buying tobacco on Zeleni venc for years. He says, for a friend who lives in another part of the city. "She doesn't have 400 dinars for cigarettes a day, she lives hard, and she also poisons herself."
When numbers get a smell
According to the data of the Republic Institute of Statistics, the average monthly income of households in Serbia in 2025 amounts to about 109.000 dinars, while an average of 4.823 is allocated to alcohol and tobacco. dinars.
Of course, non-smokers are also included in the calculation. A house with two smokers who spend a pack a day a month at the tobacco kiosk leaves 24.000 dinars for those 1.200 cigarettes.
If one cigarette is rolled with about 0,7 grams of tobacco, then the tobacco under the counter for 1.200 cigarettes costs only about 2.500 dinars. Add to that the price for filters and papers, and there you have a monthly savings of about 20.000 dinars for a household with two smokers.
In southern and eastern Serbia, where incomes are lower, allocations for tobacco are even higher than in Belgrade. This means that the vice does not disappear with a drop in standards, but becomes more pronounced.
The illusion of a healthier choice
At the Vidikovac market, sellers work in two shifts. You can buy Bosnian tobacco in the morning, and Novi Pazar tobacco in the afternoon, although there is also a small amount of Šabac.
At the stall where Bosnian is sold, the saleswoman says that it is pure tobacco and that is why it is "better" than cigarettes. When asked if it was sprayed, he answers: "Who can guarantee that something has or hasn't been sprayed, so strawberries are full of pesticides."
It doesn't sound very marketing, but he says people keep coming back and he has repeat customers.
A young woman from Novi Sad describes her experience with tobacco differently. "I used to buy tobacco from the market at the beginning of my studies, because it was cheaper, but I stopped buying it when I started coughing and feeling dizzy."
Silence of institutions
"Belgrade Markets" did not respond to "Vremena"'s inquiry. In vain, we also sent questions to the Ministry of the Interior about the production, distribution and seizures of illegal tobacco.
According to data from the MUP website, the last seizure of tobacco on the market in Serbia was recorded in January of this year in Niš, when 236 kilograms were seized.
While sellers fear "services", buyers know they are buying something they shouldn't, but they also know why. Is it a small saving on this high price, when you can't roll cigarettes...
Real journalism costs money, and we will not be bought by tycoons and corporations. Support us with a one-time or monthly donation. The time for it is now!
