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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Obama Quits

President Barack Obama gets a kiss from first lady Michelle Obama after he spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)
President Barack Obama gets a kiss from first lady Michelle Obama after he spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has finally done what millions of fellow Americans are still struggling to achieve – he’s given up smoking.

“Yes, he has,” his wife, Michelle, said Tuesday at the White House when asked whether he had conquered a nicotine habit that began as a teenager. “It’s been almost a year,” she said, offering no details on exactly when or how he quit.

But is the breakup with tobacco final? One in five adults, about 46 million people, still smoke, and brain research shows that nicotine is powerfully addictive. Three out of four smokers who try to kick the habit relapse within six months. More. 

Have you ever quit smoking? How did you do it?



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.