Via the BBC:  Cuba to withdraw cheap cigarettes for elderly

All Cubans 55 or older are allocated four packs of cigarettes a month for about 25% the normal price, but this privilege is being ended in September.

The measure is President Raul Castro’s latest attempt to cut the communist state’s spending.

I must confess, my first reaction to this story is bemusement, as there is something about the idea about making it easier for the elderly to smoke that is a bit disconsonant.  Of course, it is also an illustration about the timewarp that Cubans lives in.

Beyond that, it also underscores the economic circumstances under which many live on the island:

"I’m insulted because it’s another thing they are taking away from us," said Angela Jimenez, a 64-year-old who receives a monthly pension of about $10 (£6.50).

Now, a lot is subsidized and so $10/month in Cuba isn’t what it would be in, say, Miami.  Still, it is an amazingly low amount.