The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Obama told to kick smoking habit, eat better
WASHINGTON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
56 Comments
Login to comment
sharky1
Obama still smokes??? What kind of example is that for the children of our nation? Again, showing his lack of leadership. Obama...quitting is only a matter of discipline...wither you have it, or you don't. What's it going to be?
some14some
Wonder how did he qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize? ofcourse, it doesn't require medical certificate from WHO !!
Odogma
So he smokes. So what?
Badsey
Change is easy to say, but difficult to do it seems.
Sarge
Most smokers can't quit. Obama is no different.
LostinNagoya
I half blame smokers, half blame companies. I am pro-Obama, but I really think he should fight this bad-smelling habit.
skipthesong
While I was in the Army and then worked for the VA, we were told there is no smoking in federal owned buildings.. So, where does he smoke? Maybe he should move to those electronic cigs.
Its really a disgusting habit and yes Sarge, I've heard its actually easier to get off of heroine than cigs. Glad I never smoked.
Helter_Skelter
One of the first things Obama did in office was sign an anti-smoking bill to regulate the tobacco industry. Yet he continues to support them by purchasing cigarettes. What a total hypocrite. Like all elitists, do as I say, not as I do.
Anyway, millions of people quit smoking. There's no excuse. Someone in his position shouldn't smoke for lots of reasons, especially when you're lecturing the country about the evils of the tobacco industry.
SushiSake3
After the economic wreckage Obama inherited from the conservative-backed GOP, I'm half surprised he hasn't already quit his job. But he's got more guts than that, and way more legs to stand on than the conservatives, who are the last people who should be slagging off the president. That said, I agree, he should give up smoking.
SushiSake3
lol!! I just noticed HelterSkelter, a conservative, labelling someone else a 'hypocrite.' Wiping the coffee spray off my screen now .... A good belly laugh - an awesome way to start the day. :-)
Odogma
He's a big boy. He knew what he was getting into. Making excuses for him falls into the category Americans call the soft bigotry of low expectations.
adaydream
I started smoking cigarettes when I was 7 years old. It took me 34 years to stop that habit. I quit on 3/20/93 at 1600. I still want another cigarette damn near every day.
I understand having trouble stopping. They say that it takes numerous times trying before you ever break the habit. I can attest to that.
Take your shots at Obama. Enjoy yourself. < :-)
LostinNagoya
My God, 7 years old?? And you are a winner adaydream. We know it's not an easy habit to quit.
yabits
He should take a cue from Sarah Palin; there's someone who knows how to quit.
USAFdude
adaydream - Congrats on successfully quitting smoking. As for taking shots at Obama, consider the following:
This is to inform you that your message on JapanToday.com has been removed for the following reason:Off Topic "Bush is also a smoker; ask anyone who was at the American Embassy in Tokyo about seven years ago." --JapanToday.com Moderator Team
Apparently, it's just fine to bash Obama, but not bush, at least according to JT's wonderfully "unbiased" moderators.
sailwind
So he smokes, isn't like any former Presidents didn't. Heck, Clinton sure enjoyed a good cigar while he was in the oval office.
USAFdude
sharky -
From the article above, obviously unread by sharky:
Occasional, sharky, occasional. Just like ol' bushie.
skipthesong
He should have quit a long time ago.. being a prez sure as heck isn't going to be an easy time to quit. how much sleep does he get? I'm sure it ain't a whole lot.
Can any smoker answer if e-cigs will help him or not?
SushiSake3
It's pretty funny watching conservatives pounce on the president for failing to break a personal habit, and yet are strangely silent about how their guys completely failed to run the country even half-as*ed well.
Seems like conservatives place more emphasis on the trivial than on major priorities. Actually, considering the fiscal disaster the GOP handed Obama, that's probably not far from the truth, unfortunately...
SushiSake3
What's an e-cig? Is it like e-commerce? :-)
skipthesong
sushi, no they are some small electronic cigs that taste like regular cigs but there is no tobacco. No nicotine, no tar. they look like the real thing I think.
And again, why are you using Bush as a Bench mark on such an issue?
SushiSake3
Skip, I haven't mentioned bush at all.
cleo
It's a plastic pretend-ciggie with a little red light on the end that glows when you take a drag on it. Then you can enjoy blowing out 'smoke' that is really water vapour.
Never having been a smoker I don't know if they help stem the craving, but if the commercials on telly are anything to go by they work by making the user look a right twerp sucking on a plastic tube with a vapid smile on his face, while the people around him get on with enjoying their lives.
I think there is no better advocate for closing down the tobacco industry than a smoker who despite all his attempts cannot kick the habit. Obama isn't a hypocrite (on this matter, at least) - he's a living example.
What if someone has normal to low levels of LDL, and high levels of HDL that gives them a total cholesterol level above 200? Do they still need to lower their cholesterol?
ca1ic0cat
I would think this is good advice for anybody....if you're going to pick on somebody for not breaking a habit like smoking, maybe the politicians should swear off pork barrel spendng? Naw, can't happen...
Molenir
Heh, if Obama quit as President, it would be as healthy for the country, as quitting smoking would be for Obama. (You walked right into that one) More seriously, I agree that Obama should give up smoking, though looking at what you and other libs here have written, I'm wondering if rather its you guys we should be worried about.
A cheapshot, but effective. Good one.
What someone else wrote, but I totally agree. Its an extremely hard habit to break. Congratulations. Now you just need to break that terrible liberalism habit.
SushiSake3
Molenir - "Now you just need to break that terrible liberalism habit."
Thank the good Lord America broke the conservative habit last year.
Best thing Americans have done this century. :-)
sailwind
Scott Brown is a smoker also?
SushiSake3
sail - lol! :-)
Nice one. We've got some sharp cookies on JT this morning... :-)
zurcronium
Obama is healthy enough to last as President for another 7 years.
Get ready low bridgers on the right. I only hope the real quiter runs against Obama in 2012. If she does then it is lights out. Even the McCain types left in the dying republican party will vote for Obama.
SushiSake3
"Obama said at a June news conference that he still had an occasional cigarette."
I think the conservatives above who attacked their president probably completely failed to read this line...
But then again, conservatives have turned failing into an art form, so at least they are staying true to form. :-)
Odogma
One of Obama's Chicago physicians (Quentin Young) was a longtime supporter of the Communist Party. He is sometimes called the father of the single payer movement in America. The other (Dr. David Scheiner) opposes the WH health care plan, because it is not radical enough in its demands upon productive Americans to provide health care for complete strangers and illegal aliens.
I am relieved to see that the leader of the free world is now attended to by a Navy doctor.
SushiSake3
Odogma - "I am relieved to see that the leader of the free world is now attended to by a Navy doctor."
Sorry, you missed a word - "is now BEING attended to..."
Junnama
What of it? My doctor believes in UFO's. I don't.
SushiSake3
Junnama - Ogdama has nothing much else to pin on the president - except, of course, this as yet unproven claim that "I am relieved to see that the leader of the free world is now attended to by a Navy doctor."
sailwind
Well I'm not going to beat up on the President on this one, smoking is a hard one to give up. And smoking seems to be part of personality all around. After all he has already smoked thru 3.52 trillion dollars in spending his first year in office.
goddog
I used to smoke and chew the gum at the same time and had a patch. All I could say was wow.
RomeoRamenII
Last June Obama called himself a "former smoker". So, this means he is not a former smoker? Yet, another lie.
RomeoRamenII
Helter: Heh, for some, kicking the BDS habit is tougher than Obama stopping to smoke.
Odogma
I think the Navy doctor's admonition to eat better is a sly dig at the alarming frequency with which the Obama's hold parties (taxpayer-funded, of course) at the White House - - and while the rest of the American people are being asked to sacrifice,no less.
kokorocloud
Wait. ...He smokes? I didn't know that, haha.
He should try taking better care of his health! He already has so many other things to worry about, but his health is also really important.
SushiSake3
Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if every conservative here who is bashing the president smokes or has smoked themselves.
Pot. Kettle. Hello. -)
RomeoRamenII
Obama should stick with “smoking cessation efforts”
America would be better off if Obama's doctor prescribed him lie cessation efforts instead.
SushiSake3
"Obama said at a June news conference that he still had an occasional cigarette."
Romeo, really - what's the big deal?
Don't tell us you haven't done the same.
Did you come down on yourself like a ton of bricks?
No, that would mean you could take it as good as you can give, but we all know you can't. :-)
Helter_Skelter
Hey sushi, since when have you become an expert on the smoking habits of JT posters? Anyway, it's not so much about Obama smoking as it is him championing anti-smoking legislation while doing so. Kinda loses credibility.
SushiSake3
The conservatives on this thread who are slamming the president for his bad habits need to clean up their own before they attack others.
The lame excuse of 'But I'm not president of the United States!" doesn't negate your responsibility to do this. :-)
Sarge
"you ARE a "former smoker" if you've successfully cut down from a pack a day to two or three single cigarettes a day, like me"
Dude, if you're still smoking cigarettes every day, even just 2 or 3, you're still a smoker. But congratulations for cutting down to that level from 20 a day. Hopefully you'll cut down to zero.
USAFdude
Thank you, Sarge. My point, of course, is that cutting down to even half a pack a day doesn't make a liar of someone who calls himself/herself a "former smoker"; referring to yourself in such a manner is a proven technique in helping smokers cut down to zero.
Moderator: Readers, enough of this. The topic is Obama, not any of you.
SushiSake3
Why have the conservatives on this board reduced this conversation to an low-brow slagging match aimed at accusing their president of still having 'an occasional cigarette"?
If the above-mentioned conservatives REALLY took their country seriously, they would ignore this piece as the trivial news it is.
"The president is the picture of health, eats modest portions and exercises regularly."
That's probably way more than can be said about his detractors.
Sarge
I hope Obama also cuts down to zero. I don't want taxpayer money going to treat his tobacco-related illnesses.
sailwind
Well I'm pretty sure Obama is buying his smokes at the nearest military base in D.C. to save a few bucks. D.C has got a hefty $2.50 tax on a pack of Newports.
Gombei424Canada
Well,my friends,Obama is still just fab.
Badsey
If Obama (and others) would only give up their painful addictions - then maybe America could be free and afford healthcare for all.
-change must first start with self it seems
Jbizzle
Like you guys don't have any "bad" habits? You guys are seriously nitpicking the President because he smokes?!? So he signed the anti-smoking bill upon taking office, what do you expct him to do? ENCOURAGE people to smoke?!? Losers! Get a life!
Badsey
Couldn't he just put the nicotine patch on his bum left knee (nicotine crutch) = could save a few ¥¥ on pain meds that way.
TheQuestion
My doctor tells me the same thing, shortly afterwards he compliments me on my well maintained blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
If the President is in good health I'm happy. If he can smoke while maintaining that good health more power to him.
Odogma
It's just that the image of Obama the Smoker kind of spoils all the liberal media images of Obama photographed in such a way that he appears to have a halo :)