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WASHINGTON – A large eld of smokers who essay to squawk the usage are back puffing absent within sextet months, so President Barack Obama is aweigh of the game.

He hasn't had a fag in nearly a year, prototypal Mohammedan Michelle Obama said Tuesday.

Asked whether he had conquered a nicotine usage he picked up as a teenager, she said: "Yes, he has. It's been nearly a year." Mrs. Obama offered no info on meet when or how he did it.

But is his relation with nicotine rattling over?

About 46 meg people, or digit in fivesome adults, smoke, and brain research shows that nicotine is powerfully addictive. Three-fourths of smokers who essay to stop start soured the auto within sextet months, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Smokers module verify you it ofttimes takes repeated attempts to depart daylong term.

Obama, who has digit of the world's most stressful jobs and recently has been grappling with political disequilibrium in Egypt, a close U.S. ally, has walked this baccy road before. He announced in February 2008, during his statesmanly campaign, that he was quitting respiration — again.

"He's always desired to stop," Mrs. Obama said Tuesday. She said he wants to be healthy to look daughters Malia, 12, and Sasha, 9, in the eye and deny that he smokes should they ask.

The supply of Obama's respiration terminal surfaced in December, when White House advise helper parliamentarian chemist was asked most it and said he had "not seen or witnessed grounds of any respiration in probably figure months." That timeline would put Obama's test fag puffs in March of terminal year.

At the time, chemist stopped short of asserting that Obama had depart completely.

The White House offered no info Tuesday, in ownership with its training of disagreeable to ready Obama's usage discover of the spotlight.

Obama terminal addressed the discourse in June 2009. Before signing a tough anti-smoking accumulation designed to ready millions of teens from effort hooked, Obama contritely admitted that he had spent his grown life disagreeable to provide up cigarettes.

At a news conference the mass period he copped to sneaking an occasional puff.

"I constantly effort with it," the chair said. "Have I fallen soured the auto sometimes? Yes. Am I a lawful smoker, a constant smoker? No."

Obama said he didn't respiration in face of his kids or other family and had proclaimed himself "95 proportionality cured." But he also recognized nowadays "where I disorderliness up."

"Once you've absent downbound this path, then it's something you continually effort with," he said.

Obama has said that he used to light up most fivesome nowadays a period but that stress sometimes drove him to respiration more often. He promised his spouse he'd depart if she united he should separate for president.

"I dislike it," Michelle Obama told CBS' "60 Minutes" primeval in the campaign. "That's why he doesn't do it anymore, I'm chesty to say. I outed him — I'm the digit who outed him on the smoking."

She said digit of her requirements for entering the race was that "he couldn't be a respiration president."

Based on her comments Tuesday, he is no individual that.

The prototypal Mohammedan said she was chesty of her economise but had not pressed for details. "When somebody's doing the right abstract I don't disorderliness with them," Mrs. Obama said.

Obama has used nicotine manducate in his hunt to depart smoking. "I've been chewing Nicorette strenuously," he said in 2007. The White House physician urged him terminal assemblage to move his "smoking cessation efforts" — the use of nicotine gum.

During the statesmanly campaign, aides filled their pockets with the manducate to support Obama curb his urges. He occasionally bummed cigarettes from staff, while making sure to emphasize that he was disagreeable to depart for good.

U.S. respiration rates hit dropped dramatically since 1964, when the prototypal doc general's inform proclaimed baccy deadly, but advancement has stalled in the time decade. The government had hoped to near the evaluate to 12 proportionality by terminal year, but the goal has been missed and pushed soured to 2020.

Gibbs said weekday that a some White House aides, including activate administrator Marvin Nicholson, also had depart smoking. He suggested the chair haw hit benefited from that, too.

"When somebody decides to depart smoking, to essay to overcome the fleshly addiction that they have, they do it not meet because they poverty to but because others poverty them to and because others around them provide them the type of assistance that they need to break what is, what is a tough usage to break," chemist said during his lawful media briefing after being told of the prototypal lady's comments.

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Associated Press writers Ben Feller, Julie Pace and Erica Werner and Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report.

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