Obama and his Smoking Habit

During today's news conference, Obama was asked some specific questions about his smoking.

Transcript

QUESTION: ... how many cigarettes a day do you now smoke? Do you smoke alone or in the presence of other people? And do you believe the new law should help you to quit? If so, why?

MR. OBAMA: Well, the -- first of all, the new law that was put in place is not about me. It's about the next generation of kids coming up. So I think it's fair, Margaret, to just say that you just think it's neat to ask me about my smoking as opposed to it being relevant to my new law.

But that's fine. I understand. It's an interesting human -- it's an interesting human interest story.

Look, I've said before that as a former smoker I constantly struggle with it. Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes. The -- am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No. I don't do it in front of my kids. I don't do it in front of my family. And, you know, I would say that I am 95 percent cured. But there are times where...

(LAUGHTER)

There are times where I mess up. And I mean, I've said this before. I get this question about once every month or so. And, you know, I don't know what to tell you, other than the fact that, you know, like folks who go to A.A., you know, once you've gone down this path, then, you know, it's something you continually struggle with, which is precisely why the legislation we signed was so important, because what we don't want is kids going down that path in the first place.

OK?

Obama didn't answer the questions.

We still don't know how many cigarettes he smokes. We know he doesn't smoke in front of his kids, but we don't know if he smokes in front of anyone else.

Obama was vague.

We know he's a smoker. Why can't he be specific about his habit?

Being "95% cured" is a relative term.

I wish he'd be honest.