By DENISE GRADY and LAWRENCE K.ALTMAN


Will one of President-elect Barack Obama’s New Year’s resolutions be to quit smoking once and for all?

His good-humored dodging in various interviews made it plain that Mr.Obama, like many who have vowed to quit, had not truly done so.

The last president to smoke more than occasionally was Gerald R.Ford, who was quite fond of his pipes. Both Presidents George Bush were reportedly abstainers, but Bill Clinton liked cigars from time to time.

Mr.Obama’s heaviest smoking was seven or eight cigarettes a day, but three was more typical, according to an interview published in the November issue of Men’s Health magazine. In a letter given to reporters before the election, Mr.Obama’s doctor said he had quit several times and was using Nicorette gum, a form of nicotine replacement,“with success.”

His pattern matches that of millions of other Americans who have resolved but stumbled in their efforts to give up cigarettes.“It takes the average smoker 8 to 10 times before he is able to quit successfully,”said Dr.Steven A.Schroeder, director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr.Schroeder said that counseling was helpful. With nicotine replacements and counseling, quit rates at one year are 15 percent to 30 percent, Dr.Schroeder said, about twice that of those who try without help.

Mr.Obama has apparently been chewing nicotine gum for quite a while. Is it safe- Dr.Neal L.Benowitz, another expert on nicotine addiction from the University of California, San Francisco, said that long-term use of the gum or patches, “if it keeps you off cigarettes, is O.K.”

He said people had the best chances of quitting if they used more than one type of nicotine replacement at the same time - like wearing a patch every day, but also using the gum when cravings took hold. Dr.Schroeder also noted that for someone who smoked fewer than 10 cigarettes a day, nicotine replacements may be less helpful because the addiction may be more to the habit than to nicotine.

Relapse is typical. Most people who can quit for a year will be able to stay off cigarettes for good, Dr.Benowitz said. But about 10 percent start smoking again even after a year or more.

Some experts say nicotine is harder to give up than cocaine or heroin.

“There is something called hedonic dysregulation,”Dr.Benowitz said.“Nicotine involves dopamine release, which is key in signaling pleasure. When people quit smoking, they don’t experience things they used to like as pleasure. Things are not as much fun as they used to be. It’s something you get over in time.”

One of the best things that Mr.Obama has going for him is that he is a jogger.

“There is increasing evidence that if you can exercise, it’s often helpful”in quitting, Dr.Benowitz said.“I hope Obama can still find time to play basketball on a regular basis.”


Presidents John F.Kennedy and Bill Clinton occasionally smoked cigars. Franklin D.Roosevelt smoked cigarettes.