Objective. To examine the extent to which social inequalities hinder tobacco prevention efforts by studying the relationships between time horizons, distrust of tobacco control measures, poverty, and smoking. Materials and methods. Statistical analysis of two cross-sectional telephone surveys of the general population (Ile-de-France, 2000, 939 smokers; France-wide, 2005, 3,820 people, including 979 smokers). Results. In the France-wide survey, 13% of respondents exhibited a preference for the present combined with pessimism regarding their future (they believe they will not reach their life expectancy, or that they will be in poor health by age 70). These individuals are characterized by a low level of education, a high proportion of blue-collar workers and white-collar employees, low incomes, as well as a high prevalence of smoking (39%). Furthermore, among smokers in the Ile-de-France survey, risk denial (believing that family history or living in the great outdoors protects against tobacco-related diseases) and critical attitudes toward anti-smoking efforts (perceived as contrary to individual freedom, moralizing, and limited to the defense of nonsmokers) are more common among manual laborers, the unemployed, low-income individuals, and especially those with low levels of education, with this denial and these critical attitudes also being associated with higher cigarette consumption. Discussion and conclusion. Our results suggest that poverty induces a form of “myopia” that is not conducive to the effective reception of preventive messages, and that the poorest smokers harbor a certain mistrust toward tobacco control. This myopia and mistrust, which are socially differentiated, can hinder prevention. Conversely, since poor smokers are less responsive to prevention efforts, these efforts could contribute to widening social health inequalities. Finally, our results highlight the need to clearly define the concept of society underlying the analysis of social health inequalities: a stratified society or a class-based society? [author’s abstract]