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Obama's Not-So-Secret Shame
Yesterday, as
President Obama signed
a bill that authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to regulate
tobacco products, it became clear that he still smokes cigarettes
occasionally:
Mr. Obama noted that 90 percent of smokers began on or before their 18th birthday.
"I know; I was one of those teenagers," he said, standing beneath a punishing afternoon sun at a Rose Garden ceremony. "I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time."...
There are few touchier questions inside the White House than whether Mr. Obama is still smoking. One senior administration official declined to answer, but pointed out that the president spoke Monday in the present tense, saying, "I know how difficult it can be to break this habit," as opposed to "I know how difficult it was to break this habit."...
When asked directly if Mr. Obama was still smoking, Robert Gibbs, the president's press secretary, replied: "He struggles with it every day. I don't honestly see the need to get a whole lot more specific than the fact that it's a continuing struggle."
I suppose you could count this as one more broken campaign promise, although giving up cigarettes is a pledge Obama made to his wife rather than voters. By itself, the fact that Obama smokes now and then does not bother me, but this "continuing struggle" business is getting old. Why not just admit that he's an occasional smoker? Presumably because it would set a bad example for the kids and undermine the orthodox view of nicotine addiction, according to which occasional smoking can be a stage on the way to full-blown, pack-a-day addiction or complete abstinence but never a stable pattern. Data on tobacco use, especially for cigars and pipes but increasingly for cigarettes as well, show this conventional view is wrong: It's quite common for people to consume tobacco on a less-than-daily basis.
Obama's cigarette habit is not necessarily inconsistent with his tobacco policy views, especially if we accept his self-portrayal as a victim of Big Tobacco who was trapped in the habit before he was old enough to know better. But it does raise some fairness issues. For instance, Obama prefers Marlboro Reds, which is not one of the cigarette varieties banned by the new law. (If it had been, you can be sure Philip Morris would not have supported the bill.) Isn't it unseemly for the president to support the prohibition of other smokers' favorites, especially when the contraband list (all flavors except tobacco and menthol) is so arbitrary (and maybe even racist)?
Obama's first tax hike (which violated his promise not to raise taxes on people of modest means) raised the federal levy on cigarettes from 39 cents to $1 a pack. He is paying the tax too, of course, but he's a light smoker and a wealthy man; the tax falls much more heavily on regular smokers, who are disproportionately poor and, according to the White House, engaged in a "continuing struggle" with an addiction that even the leader of the free world is not powerful enough to break. How is it fair to punish them even more, especially when they are already saving taxpayers money by kicking off early?
ed|6.23.09 @ 6:03PM|#
He struggles with it every day
Poor baby. Despite his predecessor's many faults, W somehow managed
to quit demon alcohol.
Dear Leader can't give up the weed? Some role model he
is.
Fascitis Necrotizante|6.23.09 @ 6:08PM|#
In honor of this post I'm going to roll and smoke my first cigarette in two months.
Invisible Finger|6.23.09 @ 6:11PM|#
What shortens your life more - smoking or government health insurance?
Peter|6.23.09 @ 6:17PM|#
Obama smokes?...
Wait so you mean that smoking is cool?...
I need to start smoking so I can be cool too!
I hope some cigarette company puts his face on their packs.
|6.23.09 @ 6:18PM|#
This bill is supposed to help prevent teenage smokers,
right?
Well, let us consider marijuana. Marijuana is illegal, and
therefore, unavailable (technically). It is not advertised. It does
not come in various candy flavors. Marijuana companies do not
sponsor events, race cars or give out customer gifts. However, in
my experience, more teens and young adults smoke pot than tobacco.
Even people who are not addicts will still find ways to get their
fix, be it tobacco, alcohol or some illegal drug.
This bill will do nothing to stem teen smoking. It will only serve
to give the government more control over the private lives of its
citizens. Who knows, maybe tobacco use will be limited on TV. Next
thing we know, I can't watch the Ron White comedy special because
he smokes tobacco on stage. While we are at it, we might as well
crack down on those alcohol references (sorry Tater Salad). Since
that will undoubtably prove to stem the negative influence on
today's youth, we should just go ahead and prevent all suggestive
references to sex, violence or crime because that also might give
ideas to our oh, so impressionable young adults and teens.
Invisible Finger|6.23.09 @ 6:37PM|#
However, in my experience, more teens and young adults smoke
pot than tobacco.
Cuz it's way cheaper, thanks to tobacco taxes.
iamse7en|6.23.09 @ 6:38PM|#
Let's be honest here: every time Obama buys himself some
cigarettes, he's saving kids. Isn't SCHIP great? Sin taxes are
saving the children!
fin-tastic, stay classy, buddy.
GG|6.23.09 @ 6:40PM|#
kilroy | June 23, 2009, 6:19pm | #
I'm lighting up my clove cigarette with my GM bonds.
Heh.
After my kid heard about this bill, he bought ten packs of cloves
to sell on the black market. I'm so proud!
Medic001|6.23.09 @ 6:41PM|#
"He struggles with it every day. I don't honestly see the need
to get a whole lot more specific than the fact that it's a
continuing struggle."
Fucking quit..its NOT that HARD!!
I'm sick of all the crutches, the flippn tears. ohh whoos mee.. I
can't quit smoking.
Yes you can.
Put it down and walk away.
I've seen HUNDREDS- Thousands of patients do it.
Oh..but its not ok to smoke weed there Mr Obama? But you can
stillpuff on a CANCER stick.
Fucking sick. Just sick.
Lee|10.28.09 @ 12:28AM|#
I don't know what medical field your in but you obviously don't have much schooling. You also (obviously) have no grasp on addiction or you wouldn't make such a stupid comment as "it is not that hard" as difficulty is relative and nicotine addiction varies from smoker to smoker.
P.s. Just because you became a registered nurse online or took a CPR class once before you started babysitting doesn't make you any kind of authority on addiction. Please get some kind of degree and maybe take a class on compassion.
ev|6.23.09 @ 7:26PM|#
I used to get Top or Bugler rolling tobacco. (Hey, I'm fucking
poor). I smoked for 4 years, usually about 5-10 a day.
It cost 1.81. Literally, overnight, the prices went up to 4.27
after tax.
I quit without any problems. I am glad that I quit, I always said I
would after college (which beautifully coincided with the tax
increase), but I'm incensed that the government taxed me out of an
activity.
In other news, fuck the government.
|6.23.09 @ 7:45PM|#
Rasmussen reports showing a slight decline for Obama. Wait until inflation kicks in from all his spending, not to mention tax hike if America Clean Energy bill gets passed. Chicago thug style politics screwing stockholders and car dealership owners so that the UAW gains ownership of GM. Too bad the progressive "Jonestown" bunch are too far gone to wake up.
Paul Solomon|6.23.09 @ 8:13PM|#
In between fielding questions dealing with the unrest in Iran, the fate of the economy, and the perils of global warming, Obama admitted that he still smokes occasionally, and that it is an ongoing battle. "As a former smoker, I constantly struggle with it," said Obama. "Have I fallen off the wagon with it? Yes." Obama added, however, that he never smokes in front of his two young daughters and not on a daily basis. During the presidential campaign, Obama occasionally bummed cigarettes from aides, but was never photographed by the media and made sure to emphasize he was working on getting his habit under control. Today, Obama that he is "95% cured," after a reporter asked about his struggle kicking the habit. As to the legitimacy of the question, the president brushed it off, saying "I understand...It's an interesting human interest story." He didn't see however, how it was relevant to the new law, but, in order to satisfy the media's quest for instant gratification on the subject, he wasted time talking about his own struggles. "There are times where I mess up...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 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." The President didn't explain where exactly he lights up, but since he doesn't do it in front of his family, and the media hasn't witnessed him smoking, except for the undated picture you posted, it seems that the question asked of him was unnecessary. The sweeping new legislation passed yesterday giving the FDA authority to regulate tobacco was a major step in protecting children. Obama has said he got hooked on cigarettes as a teenager, and as he signed the bill in the White House Rose Garden yesterday, he said "The decades-long effort to protect our children from the harmful effects of tobacco has emerged victorious." That should be the story, not Obama's own struggle with nicotine. He is, after all, a role model for children. Why complicate the issue?
MNG|6.23.09 @ 8:19PM|#
Sin taxes are immoral.
1. They hurt the poor more than anyone else. Liberals should not
like that.
2. They rest on a terrible paternalism, that the vices of the poor
should be targeted "for their sake."
3. Usually the things they aim at are things enjoyed by consenting
adults and don't directly harm other parties, so they don't flunk
Mills harm principle, which should be a guiding liberal
principle.
ed|6.23.09 @ 8:19PM|#
Wait, so you mean that smoking is cool?
Man, you gotta admit...that's a cool image.
I don't know what brand is his, but if I were a cig-maker, I'd put
that pic on every pack.
"Obamas"®. Yes we can!™
|6.23.09 @ 8:57PM|#
Well, at least he is trying to do something about it! I mean
really!
RT
www.anon-tools.tk
dfd|6.23.09 @ 9:15PM|#
I don't know who's worse, the anonymity bots or douche-bags like Paul Solomon spamming the boards with his cut-and-paste Obama-fellating wall of text. You could have saved a lot of space if you'd just stuck with the standard, tired cliche "it's for the children!"
|6.23.09 @ 9:23PM|#
By itself, the fact that Obama smokes now and then does not
bother me, but this "continuing struggle" business is getting old.
Why not just admit that he's an occasional smoker?
Because he really wants to quit, as opposed to being a happy
occasional smoker? Because he's trying to motivate himself?
Sometimes, Jacob, a cigar is just a cigar.
Lee|10.28.09 @ 12:20AM|#
Yeah thats the sentence that bugged me too. Like duh. I don't
think Jacob is or has been a smoker...there is a big difference
btwn occasionally smoking and trying your darndest to quit.
anyway thanks for being the person who commented and had a
clue.
( :
|6.23.09 @ 10:01PM|#
Hope that the prez doesn't get around to outlawing sex or putting it under the FDA or not allowing it to be seen on daytime TV. Not so much for me but what will the kids do ? No smokes, no booze, no drugs, no big back seat car.Sure would hate to be growing up now. How can something be "for the children" when it takes all the fun out of being a kid ?
|6.23.09 @ 10:16PM|#
It does not come in various candy flavors.
I've consulted my sources and I bed to differ
Rich|6.23.09 @ 10:30PM|#
Regulation, huh? If the smoking, um, "habit" is so dangerous and so difficult to quit, where are all the locked-ward tobacco rehabs?
BobDobalina|6.23.09 @ 10:33PM|#
Always laugh every time I see that photo of Obama with ciggy
dangling out of mouth. It always reminds me of some overly
self-conscious, sorry-assed 1950s existential novelist; sort of
like Albert Camus's interracial love child.
"Pied noir," indeed ...
hmm|6.23.09 @ 10:53PM|#
Good article.
All this conviction he likes to throw around and he can't quite
smoking? All it takes is the decision, smoked for 10 years, decided
to stop, sucked it up and stopped, haven't smoked for 10 years now.
The inability to stop is a lack of self control and perseverance,
you know something that doesn't come easy.
hmm|6.23.09 @ 10:54PM|#
Forgot. I'd be happier with a President that smoked on camera and told the rest of the world it's probably bad for you, but it's my ass not yours.
|6.24.09 @ 8:11AM|#
Medic001,
You must be a blast at parties--get over your smug, holier than
thou ass (which is a crutch, I might add).
Fluffy|6.24.09 @ 8:15AM|#
The inability to stop is a lack of self control and
perseverance, you know something that doesn't come easy.
I actually think this overstates the difficulty of quitting. By
playing it up as this big moral test, we make the problem seem
bigger than it is and actually end up indirectly indulging the
people who fail to quit.
The patch makes quitting smoking almost trivially easy. Anyone who
doesn't quit at this point isn't losing some epic moral struggle
with temptation - they just don't actually want to quit. I imagine
they have to pretend they want to quit to satisfy some scold in
their lives, maybe one that looks like Worf or something.
I think we've built up the spectre of addiction so far that now
people actually rely on it as their excuse for doing what they
actually just want to do. "I'm addicted to gambling! I'm
addicted to sex!" But the thing is, if it's true that quitting
smoking and standing up from the blackjack table, or stopping
cheating on your wife, are all equally difficult to do - then
quitting smoking must not actually be that hard.
Xeones|6.24.09 @ 8:38AM|#
"I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when
it's been with you for a long time."
"...so i'm just gonna make it so you poor people who can't control
yourselves, or make your own choices, can't afford it anymore. It's
for your own good, and for the good of SCHIP-eligible
upper-middle-class children whose parents just don't feel like
paying for their health insurance. In summary, won't you think of
the children? PIMP OUT."
Xeones|6.24.09 @ 8:39AM|#
I think we've built up the spectre of addiction so far that
now people actually rely on it as their excuse for doing what they
actually just want to do. "I'm addicted to gambling! I'm addicted
to sex!" But the thing is, if it's true that quitting smoking and
standing up from the blackjack table, or stopping cheating on your
wife, are all equally difficult to do - then quitting smoking must
not actually be that hard.
This, exactly. Yo, fuck feel-good pop psychology.
Matt Jennings|6.24.09 @ 9:13AM|#
Brings to mind this parody entitled "Obama Surrenders to Big Government; Signs Instrument of Surrender in Form of Bill Regulating the Cigarettes He Can't Keep Himself from Smoking": http://optoons.blogspot.com/ (June 24 entry)
|6.24.09 @ 9:30AM|#
this "continuing struggle" business is getting
old.
No shit. I smoked a pack (plus) a day for probably 4 years, and
quite pretty much cold turkey. I have had zero desire to smoke
cigarettes since.
Its. Not. That. Hard.
Of course, like everything else that comes out of his mouth, this
is all a pose, intended to (a) garner sympathy from his sycophants
and (b) justify more regulation and taxes.
Michelle Obama|6.24.09 @ 9:32AM|#
I imagine they have to pretend they want to quit to satisfy
some scold in their lives, maybe one that looks like Worf or
something.
Hey!
Wade|6.24.09 @ 9:49AM|#
If Obama is an addict, "which continuing struggle" seems to apply, then he needs to just admit it. Then either smoke or quit. There is no such thing as 95% cured. You are either quit or not. As an addict that has quit I know when someone is lying about it.
Zeb|6.24.09 @ 9:51AM|#
For all you pricks who have had an easy time quitting smoking, guess what? Different people have different experiences with drugs. Some people can quit easily and for some it is close to impossible. Your experience may not be typical.
Forty-Two|6.24.09 @ 11:18AM|#
What is Federal government policy on smoking in government
buildings?
Is the White House a smoke-free zone?
Fluffy|6.24.09 @ 11:48AM|#
For all you pricks who have had an easy time quitting
smoking, guess what? Different people have different experiences
with drugs. Some people can quit easily and for some it is close to
impossible. Your experience may not be typical.
Look, Zeb, it's not like I want to have to give you a hard
time.
But I've been backed into a corner, by the "addiction counseling"
community, which has browbeaten me over and over with statistics
"proving" that shopping is as addictive as cigarettes.
And the thing is, that goes both ways. It has to go both
ways. And so I conclude that cigarettes are only as addictive as
shopping. And from this I conclude that the entire category
"addiction" is kind of a sham, and that I always overestimated the
level of dependence that the word "addiction" was intended to
describe.
If you feel that I am belittling the difficulties of people who
can't manage to quit smoking, I'm sorry but you're going to have to
take it up with the people who run addiction studies.
Zeb|6.24.09 @ 1:44PM|#
I am no fan of people who run addiction studies. Just annoyed by the people dismissive of those who cannot (or will not for whatever reason) quit because their experience was not terribly difficult. There is a lot of bullshit science out there about addiction and trying to make it into a disease is very troubling, but addiction is a real phenomenon that affects different people differently.
|6.24.09 @ 2:23PM|#
With black people more prone to strokes, if Obama keeps smoking,
we shall have a President Biden in 4 years. What a role model for
youngsters!
Between this and his policy on Israel, am beginning to realize I
made a mistake in voting for him. Obama ought to smoke among the
Arabs. The job is getting to him.
DeloresManagan|6.24.09 @ 9:43PM|#
I see it to be of little importance the president is struggling with a nicotine urge. After-all, we all deal with some kind of compulsive situation whether mental or physical at some point during a life time. The thing is this man appears to have told all in an apparent attempt to appease the public, I don't think it is worth the effort.
Regroupthink|6.25.09 @ 10:13PM|#
This might be the best issue the GOP. will have going for them. They should take it and run like hell.
|6.26.09 @ 3:52PM|#
Though I voted for him, it seems pretty ridiculous that he is
out in front when it comes to health care but is unable to stop
smoking.Cut it our Barack, don't wait for the doctors to hold up
the x-ray and say: "We can't operate!"
FDR continued smoking and look what happened to him? There are even
rumors that he was suffering from cancer prior to his fatal stroke.
Eisenhower smoked like a chimney and wound up with heart disease.
Johnson went back to it and dropped dead accordingly.
If you can't stop smoking, I suggest that you take a 3 month
sabbatical and have V.P. Biden as acting President. If you can't
stop in 3 months, it's time for you to submit your resignation.
This is a terrible role model for children. "The president smokes
so we can too!"
|6.26.09 @ 3:55PM|#
Barack, Barack, as a previous person wrote, the black people are
subject to high blood pressure and more prone to stroke. We don't
need you in a wheelchair with 1 side paralyzed from the waist down.
Cut it out,brother.
Good idea to have your face on the Marlboro packs. "Even the
president does it!"
|6.26.09 @ 8:45PM|#
The fact is if President Bush smoked he would be drilled by the
left wing liberal media as if he was a murderer. But for Mr. Obama
the answer is "so what". The media is in bed with Mr. Obama - we
all see it around us. Trip to NYC to Michelle spend thousands of
taxpayer $$$$ for a date - little was mentioned. Comments about
Special Olympics little was mentioned again. If Mr. Bush did
anything like this the damn media would be all over him days.
Media - be fair, be equal and be objective.
|6.29.09 @ 12:55PM|#
nah eventually you get hooked. I smoked once every couple of months for years and years and it hooked me to every day eventually. Raul- get real the media aren't there to be fair and objective, they are there to sell papers and having nothing to say doesn't sell. You couldn't make a single statement if you were going to write something completely objective nor would it be worth reading or writing. Instead it is the reader's responsibility to read around and keep informed through a vareity of channels.
|6.29.09 @ 12:57PM|#
ps.RE: "THE PRESIDENT SMOKES SO I CAN TO" dont be absure! Does anyone actually remember being a child? I do and I never took my lead from one adult that I looked up to. People should give young people more credit.
the man|6.29.09 @ 2:30PM|#
the only way to quit smoking is to stop buying packs. i smoke when i have the pack and when i dont have the pack i dont smoke simple as fuck.
April|7.1.09 @ 2:50PM|#
Soooo he smokes. Whats the big deal? He's as normal person just like anybody else. But everyone feels like thy have to critasize him because...?
Kate|7.6.09 @ 4:35PM|#
this is poorly written, irrational, and in no way useful to anyone. you must be a summer intern or something. if not, i might advice you to seek employment in an alternative profession because there has got to be something more substantive for you to do with your time
MgtPA|7.7.09 @ 4:37PM|#
That photo of Obama smoking is a fake. It's a well-known (and
pretty obvious) photoshop.
Original photo here:
http://s-ec-sm.buzzfeed.com/static/imagebuzz/web02/2008/11/15/16/b9e22a91e9c2d35947dd9311c81609c0_13.jpg
Not what I expected from Reason.
FAIL
Lee|10.28.09 @ 12:17AM|#
I think Obama admitting it is a struggle for him on a daily basis is honest. There are people who consider themselves to have quit smoking yet still smoke when the drink and there are those of us who break down after a bad day and have a cigarette after months without. I understand the daily struggle because anyone who has smoked, become addicted, and had trouble quitting knows that the craving comes on weeks, months, years after you've quit. Obama understands how hard it is to quit and so (like many of us who wish we hadn't) he wants to influence others not to make a choice they'll regret.
|11.23.09 @ 5:16PM|#
This country has far more on its plate to speculate as to whether our President smokes or not. Seriously?!
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