RESUMO
PURPOSE: To evaluate Smoking Cessation Clinic success rate and attitudes toward smoking among current and quitters enrolled at the clinic. METHODS: Telephone survey among a random sample of 61 subjects enrolled at the Smoking Cessation Clinic in the San Juan Veterans Affairs Hospital. The questionnaire was validated and standardized for Hispanic subjects. RESULTS: Twenty eight percent of the subjects interviewed referred they had quit smoking. Quitters used to smoke more cigarettes than current smokers do. Quitters perceived their general health to be worse than current smoker's perception. Even though Quitters were concerned about weight gain after quitting, it was not a negative outcome for smoking cessation. No association was found between active smoking and use of ethanol, neither socializing with friends nor feeling anxious. CONCLUSION: The Smoking Cessation Clinic at the San Juan Veterans Affairs Hospital has a success rate similar to other clinics reported in the literature. Poor health perception and consumption of more than one pack per day predicted smoking cessation. There was no single strong factor associated to smoking cessation. The idiosyncrasy of targeted population should be taken in account when designing smoking cessation program.