It is said that the behiques, priests of the Cuban indigenous communities, used tobacco to help them enter into a “trance” during rituals. The consumption of the solanaceous plant was natural among the primitive inhabitants of the island. More than 500 years passed before many of the current natives entered into a trance just by contemplating the speculative prices reached by the product.

Difficulties of various kinds hinder the development of the Cuban tobacco industry. The shortage of necessary inputs as a consequence of the blockade, the attack of plagues and diseases, the natural phenomena that usually ruin production and the organizational problems that they may face, threaten the best efforts.

However, during the last years the market has expanded the diversity of cigarette brands sold at different prices. This diversity in turn has expanded the demands of consumers based on their own preferences. The current shortage of the most popular brands or those sought after by lower-income individual economies is leading to a stampede in the aforementioned prices. A pack of standard cigarettes sold on the irregular market for 400 pesos escapes any analysis. Not to mention the 1000 pesos or more that one of the most popular packs can reach.

In any case, and despite the current unsatisfied demand, there are always those in the market who manage to have the product in considerable quantities and set their abusive prices. Due to its nature, control over the sale of cigarettes involves some degree of difficulty. Keep in mind that any resident can sell, give away or do whatever they see fit with the standard quota received at the store or those acquired in a controlled manner in other networks.

However, the frequency and levels of sales in these establishments do not allow the irregular sale of cigarettes to be sustained, although it should be noted that during the last few weeks some brands have been absent from the most varied scenarios.

The question arises as to what else could be done in the complex network of cigarette marketing. While the country’s production levels are restored and the volume of packs for sale is reestablished, it is necessary to increase control over supplies and available levels of the product. At the same time, controls must be increased over sales that do not correspond to those of the humble neighbor who sells or exchanges his minimum quota.

In short, it is necessary to evaluate the possible actions that contribute to regulating the price of cigarettes without any other harm beyond their harmfulness to health. Let us ensure that the native of our times can enjoy his desired puff, without the danger of a trance due to abusive prices.

(Translated by Casterman Medina de Leon)

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