im flying to madrdid from the uk next weekend and wondered what the cost of ciggies were? not sure to buy at airport or to buy in the city... anyone got any ideas on prices etc. i know lucky strike red were ok, any help would be appreciated.

One word - Cheap.

Doesn't really matter where you buy them but if you go for something like Fortuna you will pay about 2.10€ a pack from the tobacconists located everywhere. One word of advice, on Sundays most are closed so buy on Saturday. In emergencies the Atocha station tobacconist is open on Sundays.

some bars have cigarette machines, but the prices vary. One bar may charge 2.20 for a peck of Fortunas or Ducados, another may charge 3 Euros. A good excuse for bar-hopping?
International brands will be quite a bit more expensive.
Cuban cigars are good value in Spain (or they used to be, I don't the current situation).
There used to be street vendors that sold tobacco for even lower prices. I suspect though that the police and government have forced these off the streets.
Another bargain is counterfeit CDs and DVDs (often sold in local bars at night by Chinese or Moroccan immigrants). Bear in mind that there won't be English sub-titles on the DVDs. You have to make your own mind up on the legality/ethical situation. My point of view is - If the street vendors can copy a CD and make a profit on 3 or 4 Euros, why do the mass-production CD retailers need to sell at 15 Euros?

One thing worth mentioning would be try to get a receipt for any cigarettes that you do buy if possible. You're not that likely to get searched going back into the UK at customs but it does sometimes happen and if you don't have a receipt they will just assume you bought them without paying tax. ie from a dodgy source.

Filbert: As per you question about the blackmarket on CDs and DVDs. The store and factory sell at the higher price because they have to pay the artist, the production labor, a benefit package to the work force which will include a retirement package. Some creep making CDs and DVDs in his spare room at home does not have that over head and steals from not only the artist but everyone else, to inclued the tax man, IE you and I the legitimate citizen. Think about it, that creep is stealing from you to.

I do not know how Spain deals with the issue of copywrite infringement. Here in the US it is not taken lightly. At the flea markets in the US there are officers patroling for that very issue. Also GWB just in the last couple of weeks, laid the law down to China over their production of blackmarket goods.

Like you said, you have to make your own decisons on this issue. I think my explanation speaks for where I stand on this.