President Barack Obama is a known smoker and during the Presidential campaign in 2008, the then Senator was seen on cameras holding a butt of cigarette and later said he intended to kick the habit for the good of his health and also to set a healthy example to Americans.
According to a CNN poll in 2009 when Obama was at the infancy of his Presidency, only one-third of Americans wanted the President to quit smoking completely, while the majority do not seem to border whether the Chief Executive of the government will continue to smoke or not, according to Time Magazine.
A recent photo shared on Instagram by an aide of Italian Prime Minister Mateo Renzi with President Obama at a resort in Germany at the G7 Summit showed the President holding a pack of cigarette while the two leaders were discussing a subject on the balcony – implying that Obama has not completely quit smoking, although the official White House communique regarding the President’s private habit is that he has quit the unhealthy habit!
Former White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in December 2010 the President hadn’t smoked in “about nine months.” In 2011, First Lady Michelle Obama also said the President hadn’t smoked in “almost a year,” saying his daughters had inspired him to kick the habit for good.
According to Time Magazine however, majority of Americans do not seem to be concerned about the influence of a person’s private habit on their choice of the Chief Executive and if there is any call for him to kick the habit completely, it is because of the concern of his health, not how it affects the image of his job.
