Impacto de las advertencias sanitarias en las cajetillas de cigarrillos sobre los fumadores cubanos.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of mandatory cigarette sanitary warnings to persuade smokers. Method: The Tobacco Consumption Questionnaire (TCQ) was applied to a sample of 205 smokers from La Habana and Santiago de Cuba. Results: A 100 % of the sample classifies as high risk smokers according to the TCQ. Most of them do not read the cigarette sanitary warnings. These warnings have never prevented them from smoking. Conclusion: Mandatory cigarette sanitary warnings have no effect whatsoever on smokers. Some possible reasons might be historical and socio-cultural factors, insufficient contributions of Cuban laws, and other inconsistent public policies.