No matter where these 3rd world sh**holes are around the globe, the citizens always seem to have cell phones and cigarettes.
Cell phones require a lot less new infrastructure, in 3rd world countries, than land lines would. The 3rd world is going directly from no phones, to cell phones — skipping an expensive step in the technology.
Tobacco would be as cheap as any other weed, if it weren’t for all the taxes. They are simply priced to what the local markets can bear.