Barack Obama

New excuse: "But mommy, why can't I smoke if President Almighty Obama does? Can I just have one puff!"

An image gone up in smoke

by Paul Gilfeather 05:55 AM Mar 08, 2010

THE fact that United States President Barack Obama smokes genuinely bothers me.

This might surprise you when I tell you that I am myself a smoker.

Let me explain.

I know for many political and cultural giants of the past 100 years, smoking was very much part of the image.

Film actors James Dean and Marlon Brando, with cigarette draped casually from their lips, were the epitome of celluloid cool. And British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and revolutionary Che Guevara might have lacked charisma were it not for the omnipresent cigar.

But it is now 2010 and even children know that smoking makes people dead, not cool.

No one is more aware of the negative connotations surrounding smoking than the leader of the Free World.

He is, after all, President of a nation where one in every five people die from smoking-related illnesses and should know better.

The problem is that he is well and truly hooked, but - as a role model for millions - he would surely give up if he could.

The guilt and shame he feels over the dreaded weed is all too apparent. Just examine the lengths he will go to hide it from the public.

He has repeatedly attempted to pull-the-wool, mislead and deflect the public's gaze away from the subject since details of his 30-year habit emerged during the US presidential election.

In a recent interview he tried to create the impression that he had kicked cigarettes for good.

It was only when he was grilled more intensely did he admit that he was some way from nailing the habit.

He was caught red-handed again last week having a puff behind the bike sheds.

Okay, I accept, the fibs may not carry the same kind of implications were he playing fast and loose with the truth over the war in Afghanistan, his country's two-tier health-care system or policy on greenhouse gases.

But he's displaying some pretty dodgy behaviour over his problem, nonetheless.

Unfortunately, in trying to cover up his addiction, President Obama has displayed some of the character traits which make him appear, to me at least, a little untrustworthy.

For many it was a shock to learn that President Obama had not kicked the habit as he swore to do on taking the oath of office in 2009.

His wife, Michelle, revealed in an interview that she made his move towards a healthier lifestyle a pre-condition of her supporting his run for the White House.

In demonstrating how seriously he views his problem, President Obama, whose White House physician has expressed concern over the nicotine addiction during an annual medical checkup, has elevated the problem to that facing an alcoholic or drug addict.

He describes his addiction as a "struggle" similar to the one that challenges "members of Alcoholics Anonymous".

I actually knew a smoker who freed himself from a 25-year cigarette habit after joining an AA group and successfully employing a 12-step programme.

It made perfect sense since "the steps" have been used by more than 1 million alcoholics and drug addicts to beat their addictions, and can pretty much be applied to any condition.

I also had a friend who, in order to give up the cancer sticks, stopped boozing altogether, because he would only light up after sinking a couple of pints. As long as he stayed out of the pub he could trust himself not to smoke.

As a smoker, I sympathise with President Obama's plight.

I just wish President Obama would show some mettle and grow up about dealing with his problem.

Ditch the nicotine gum and patches and take some real affirmative action like those people I mentioned earlier - or carry on with your habit unabashed.

I find the duplicity over it a little troubling, and the pouring of emotion when he is busted a little less than manly.