President Obama's Quit Smoking Journal December 24, 2005 - Freshman Senator Obama says he's trying to quit smoking for his daughters. "The flesh is weak." "It's an ongoing battle. I have my gum, my patches and all that stuff."
November 18, 2006 - Question about smoking: "I'm struggling with those. I've quit before. It's one of those habits that creep up when you're stressed and you have to shake it off. It's not something I'm proud of."
February 6, 2007 - I've never been a heavy smoker," no more than 10 a day. "I've quit periodically over the last several years. I've got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I don't succumb. I've been chewing Nicorette strenuously." "Actually Nicorette works pretty well."
February 11, 2007 - Michelle Obama: "I hate it." "That's why he doesn't do it anymore. I'm proud to say. I outed him -- I'm the one who outed him on the smoking. That was one of my prerequisites for, you know, entering this race, is that, you know, he couldn't be a smoking president."
March 15, 2007 - Question: "How's quitting smoking going?" Obama: "Nicorette is going justfine."
August 2007 - Reporter claims Senator Obama reeked of cigarette smoke smell during an interview.
September 11, 2007 - Video clip of Senator Obama chewing nicotine gum before a Senate Committee meeting
February 28, 2008 - Senator Obama asserts success in quitting smoking, a dealbreaker with Michelle. I had been sneaking 3 to 4 cigarettes a day but I've been chewing on Nicorette which tastes like chewing on ground pepper, "but it does help."
April 2, 2008 - Motivation to quit: "After your wife saying on 60 Minutes that if you seeBarak with a cigarette let me know." "I fell off the wagon a couple of times during the course of it and then was able to get back on." "It's a struggle like everything else. And I think that it's important to just keep in mind I have a nine-year-old daughter and a six-year-old daughter and I want to give them away in their weddings and I want to see my grand-kids and I want to set a good example for all these young people here and I want to make sure that as President of the United States I'm going to try to stay healthy ..." In advising smokers: "You guys need to get it straight. You guys need to get on the case" (see minute 31:10 of clip).
May 29, 2008 - Obama's physician releases a health statement which mentions smoking and asserts: he "has quit this practice on several occasions and is currently using Nicorette gum with success."
July 25, 2008 - Video clip of Senator Obama throwing Nicorette gum to a supporter whoasked if he still smokes: "I do not." [How did you quit?] "Nicorette, you what one? Here, try one out. Now that's 2 milligrams because I only had like 3 or 4 a day but - 3 or 4 cigarettes a day when I was smoking - but if you're a heavier smoker you may need the 4 milligrams. It's not bad, though. It works well."
October 2008 - "There wasn't some dramatic moment [when I quit]." "Michelle had been putting pressure on me for a while. I was never really a heavy smoker. Probably at my peak I was smoking seven or eight a day. More typical was three. So it wasn't a huge challenge with huge withdrawal symptoms. There have been a couple of times during the campaign when I fell off the wagon and bummed one, and I had to kick it again. But I figure, seeing as I'm running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack."
December 7, 2008 - President-Elect Obama declares that "I have" quit smoking" butacknowledges that "there are times where I have fallen off the wagon" "You will not see any violations" of the White House no smoking zone policy.
February 2, 2009 - Question: Have you had a cigarette since you been to the WhiteHouse? "I haven't had one on these grounds. Sometimes it's hard." "But I'm sticking toit."
June 22, 2009 - The President signs FDA tobacco regulation bill, during which he twice refers to smoking as a "habit" (not an addiction or chemical dependency).
June 23, 2009 - Video clip in which the President acknowledges falling off the wagon here and there, yet claimsto be 95% cured.
The President should expect news and jokes to continue
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