What on Earth can I do with 460 cigarettes?

[wineoclockthanks]

They were my Mum's.

I think they're worth about about £250 so don't really want to just throw them away. I honestly don't know anyone who smokes. I've asked local women's refuge and food bank and they don't want them. Although they were bought in UK (and so have had tax paid on them), I don't know where to sell them.

I don't want to make a profit from them as my Mum died from a smoking related illness, so anything I do make I'd donate to Cancer Research or similar, but just don't have a clue what to do.

Any suggestions?

3 of our parents died of lung disease. If any of them had left cigarettes I'd have burnt the lot. They most likely caused, or were a big factor in our parents deaths so there is no way I would encourage others to smoke by selling them or giving them away for free. Please burn them. You are not at a loss financially seeing as they were not yours.

I see what you are saying about good giving, Freda but my view is that good giving can take many forms. Your example about wells versus gift boxes - yes, the well would do more good in the long term, but that doesn't mean that a child's pleasure at opening a box of gifts is worthless.

A homeless smoker is going to find a way to smoke. Is it better that he or she smokes unfiltered tobacco from dog ends that have been lying on the ground, or a packet of new, clean and filtered cigarettes?

I can’t believe you’re asking given that your mum died of a smoking related illness. Please just bin them so you’re not contributing to someone’s demise.

Your mum died of a smoking related illness. Put them in the bin so that they can’t be smoked.

I work in a homeless shelter, we wouldn’t be allowed to give cigarettes out to a service user so you’d be better giving them out to a rough sleeper on the streets if that’s the route you decide to go down.

I don't think you did Freda. I think we should all examine our own motives when we give to charity.

Over Christmas when we had lots of wine in the house I drank more than I should and usually would because it was just there. Hopefully all homeless people have better willpower.

Bin them.

Send some my way

@Thememorylingers a well will save lives though. In the hierarchy of needs, that is more important.

I stand by what I said about not giving them to someone who is vulnerable. Cigarettes are expensive for a reason. They aren’t wasted if you throw them; that’s like saying a virus is wasted if you stop it spreading so fast.

You don’t drop your standards for any human if you can help it.

So many judgy posters here.... Don't bin them, give them to a homeless shelter or put a post on Facebook , £100 or so and donate to a charity

Thanks for all the replies.

I have tried a homeless shelter (forgot to put it in first post) and as PP said, they wouldn't accept it, which I do understand.

Maybe I just want something good to come from something that's obviously bad. I have had cancer and tbh, if a a treatment or cure or some piece of research can help someone suffering from cancer, I personally am not too fussy where the money that funded it came from.

I will have a think about offering a packet or two to a homeless person.

Please don't contribute to a homeless person's ill health. They have enough health challenges as it is, without contributing to them further,nwith smoking related disease.

Just bin them, it's best for all concerned.

Cigarettes are expensive for a reason.

So are you saying that the wealthy have earned the privilege of being able to choose what risks they take with their health, while the poor are undeserving of this choice?

I think that's a rather patronising attitude, if I'm honest. "We must protect these poor people from smoking because they're too vulnerable to make up their own minds."

can't you ebay?

or car boot?

put the money to good use, either for yourself or for someone else.

I don't think cigarettes and tobacco are allowed on eBay, Sparkly.

• No, they're not allowed on eBay with the exception of vintage, collectable packages.

If you had a left-over nuclear bomb at the end of a war, would you give it to another country to use?

I don’t mean to be patronising. But cigarettes cost people so much in terms of health. Making them less available can’t be a bad thing.

Look, I’m fat. I’m greedy and I love chocolate; I can barely resist it. I ration myself as best I can. But if my non-fat neighbour brought round her all her left-over Christmas chocolates and said, here, you have them, I’d kind of know she was thinking - you’re visibly addicted to sugar and greedy so they’ll do for you even though I know better than to stuff my face with them - I would probably scoff them but a. It would do me no good whatsoever and b. I would really hate her on a deeper level because I’d know she meant me no lasting good. That act of giving is more patronising.

They would be wasted in me as they are so bad for me as a fat person. They’d be a nice treat for someone with self control nd no weight issues.

Cigarettes are wasted on anyone because they do no good to anyone.

Why would I treat a vulnerable person like that.

What type of cigarettes are they? if they’re Marlboros send them my way totally missing the point I know

I've namechanged for this.

A while ago someone close to me died with a fair amount of drugs in their possession.

I didn't want to take it myself. I pondered about selling it but in the end would dished it out to various homeless people. Took a bit out with me when I went to town, brought them a sausage roll and popped it in the bag.

If they didn't want it for themselves they could sell it or exchange it. Homeless people smoke, drink and take drugs. Nothings going to change that. At least it helped someone out.

They're cigarettes not a nuclear bomb

People choose to smoke and will smoke regardless so giving someone a few packs of cigarettes is only going to save them money.

Homeless people would probably be more appreciative as they have less money to spend but will still smoke anyway so you are unlikely to do them any further damage

I get what you're saying @FredaFrogspawn but if you were addicted to chocolate and didn't have the means to buy some, to the point that you were picking up other people's empty choccy packets and licking them and then your neighbour threw away all her left-overs, would that actually help you?

Oh :(