I'd suggest the book Alcoholics Anonymous, page 83 last paragraph to page 85, last paragraph -- just two pages, to start.

95% cured of an addiction? President Obama that is like saying I'm just a little bit pregnant. Either you are or you aren't. "Half measures avail us nothing..." You will continue to struggle if you don't "surrender". When you surrender you declare the war is over and the battle now ends. Hiding your smoking from anyone is still "addict behavior." Don't ever give up trying. Maybe today will be the day you finally surrender to what is one of the most, if not the most addictive drug, nicotine.

I agree with Romeo B. July 3rd will mark two years smoke free for me! Nicotine remained a powerful addiction for me well into my 21st year of sobriety! I became willing to go to any length and surrendered! I could not stop smoking a little at a time. That would have driven me insane.

He is talking about it...and that is good!

Check out www.nicotine-anonymous.org I'm four and a half years free of nicotine thanks to NicA.

I don't think Obama needs treatment help or additional information to help him quit. My opinion is that he left it at 95% being that he is in the public eye and with all that scrutiny, if he was seen smoking it would be blown into something big.

This is the most rediculous statement I have read. Is it okay to be 95% cured of cocaine use? I am afraid the president just doesn't get it, another reason why we need to get McClellan in asap.

oh and nicotine addiction is NOT something you "continually struggle with"... that would be ALCOHOL addiction. once you kick the nicotine out of your live 100% you will not miss it.

As with getting off any intoxicant, or self-injurious behavior, it's either-or, choice or not. The rest is just namsy-pamsy Disease or Faith, not behavior. What's your choice, to quit (lifetime self-comittment) or stop (until the next time the urge appears). Drop the mystery and face self head-on!

Who criticizes a man trying!!! He IS talking about it. That is the thing. The public has such judmental attitudes about someone else and their addiction. Everyone is different. Maybe he should have said it another way...but why can't he be human like every one else. He is in the public eye and should not smoke. We can all say that. But he is so criticized when he should be encouraged. People are so wrong to judge.

"Me" thinks nicotine addiction is not something "you continually stuggle with!!!! What!!! Ask any exsmoker...it is a struggle. I quit after 36 years and I struggle now even years later. Smoking is a terrible addiction that can last nearly your whole life. My family who have quit still struggle as well. Find the facts. They are out there.

The sad truth is that President Obama has no clue of addiction. In addiction either you have control of the substance or it has control of you. It is good that FDA is now in control of tobacco. If it was a new drug being tested to go on the market, it would never be accepted because it leads to certain death to those who use it. It is time that our new administration starts doing the right things for the right reasons. We could criminalize nicotine and include in the war on drugs. That's worked well.

Wait, President Obama is our Commanding Chief, and the Highest entity in our Political food-chain. If he says he is 95% cured, then it is we who will have to change our perception of addiction...yeah, right.

I sympathize with all those who struggle with addiction. It is a disease, you know. It's not a matter of control. I'll pray for our president and should be encouraged to keep fighting.

Sorry so many of the comments above ignorantly ridicule the President when he should be congratulated for the 95% downsizing. It's not the nicotine that kills you, it's the deliberately designed hot-burning OVERDOSE cigarette format. I imagine what Obama means is that he has followed the John Holmes (U. Vermont) suggestion, reducing the number of cigarettes, along with chewing the Nicorette gum, but maybe he could do everyone a lot of good by trying and publicly reporting on his results with E-CIGARETTE, vaporizer and/or long-stemmed one-hitter (25-mg. serving size instead of a 700-mg. "square"). I don't grudge him his nicotine if it helps him get through the hours of reading public servants have to do, without falling asleep in full view of a million spy cameras.

Addiction is a mental thing it is all in your head.I started smoking when I was 11yrs old I quit when I was 42 I am 46 now. Mr President It is all in your head.If you want to quit you will but u have to want to quit to quit not just say it

im glad to see that Obama is trying to quit smoking but the idea that he is 95 percent cured is ludicrist. Addiction is addiction, there isnt a cure, there is only absitnence, I dont believe addiction is ever totally cured. Im a smoker who quit for 7 yrs but it was always there lurking and raising its ugly head. After 7 yrs of abstinece i let my guard down when i was in a stressful situation and picked up cigs again.

Let's not rush to judge Obama's words. As an addictions specialist and someone with a Birthday of 3-15-81 I know addiction is not cured and that there are no percentages of how far one is on that path. Having said that, I choose to believe Obama did not mean to use the word addiction (a trigger for us professional and recovering folks) but rather his own personal perception of his craving (something we all should be able to relate to). Yes the Big Book declares alcoholism and the other addictions as chronic conditions but yes, the Big Book also talks about the danger to the recovering addict of judgment of others and the toxicity of comparison. My sense is Obama's choice of words means only that his statement was NOT scripted. Judy

95% cured is like Pres. Bush saying mission accomplished in Iraq.

I am stunned by the narrow-minded intolerance of the comments on this story. When I taught smoking cessation so many years ago, it was clear that relapse is part of the ex-smoker challenge. lighten up folks.

President Obama, There is no cure for the disease of addiction. Please do not state that you are 95% cured, this is the wrong message to send to our society.

For all us critics, "restraint of pen and tongue" comes to mind.

President Obama saying he is "95% cured" does sound kind of ludicrous. Maybe he should have said 95% abstinent compared to what he used to do, if that is what he meant. In any case, i don't think we should be so harsh towards him. He is after all making an effort to quit a substance that is more addictive than heroin! That's a tough thing to do, please give the man a little credit. And to anyone who believes that staying off alcohol requires a "continuous struggle," that is simply not true. Maybe it is tough for some people but i am an alcoholic who quit drinking ten years ago and i no longer have any desire to drink. I stopped going to AA meetings six years ago because i got bored of them, but i have no trouble staying sober. When it comes to giving up addictions, everyone's different. Some people find it more challenging than others, who knows why, so it's not appropriate to be judgmental.

Perfectionism is a turn of mind we continually confront in those recovering from addictions to drugs and alcohol. While smoking tobacco occasionally may put the President back at Day One in the eyes who see no ground between relapse and recovery, there can be no doubt that his health is considerably improved by no longer smoking tobacco daily.

Wow. This guy never ceases to amaze me. Yes, nicotine is one of if not the most addictive drugs out there. Yes, relapse is common for all those in recovery. Yes, it's a day at a time. But the arrogance of his statement is astounding.

13 years smoke free, after taking 6 years to quit! Like many others who have posted, I am a nicotine addict, and can still experience the stinking thinking of an addict. Several months ago, I experienced a period of several hours where I "thought" I had started again and quit easily, so why not have another one? Don't kid yourself, folks - addiction is cunning, baffling and powerful!!

I work in the drug treatment field, however I am disappointed at how many so called experts in our field TAKE THEMSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY and are so intolerant of other. Everyone has their own voice and way of wording things. Remember, not everyone is an expert on addiction, so don't expect President Obama or any other nicotine addict to know the BIG BOOK, DSM IV or "the politically correct way to say their are doing better but still struggling." Like the other writer wrote....LIGHTEN UP and show some compassion folks

Although he is our President, we must realize that he is a human being as well. I believe what he was saying is that he has cut down by 95%, which is commendable. The products we have on the market to help people stop smoking are only somewhat effective, so there is no doubt that cutting back by 95% has taken great personal commitment on his part. If you don't smoke, don't start, not even one. That's all it takes to get addicted. If you do smoke, never stop trying to quit. Don't look at it as a failure if you try but don't quit. Learn from each attempt and keep trying. The quality and longevity of your life depends upon your quitting. Get help. Most can't do it on their own.

The President may not know the correct technical lingo, but he IS publicly discussing his effort to quit, his stuggles with slips and his support of tobacco regulation and prevention. And all this while leading the country out of economic disaster among other issues of national interest. Many folks have struggled with quitting for good under less stressful conditions.

I quit smoking until one day I thought to myself, "What harm would one cigarette do? I was up to a pack and a half in no time. I quit with help for good. That has worked for the last 24 years without the desire to smoke using the same tools I learned in rehab to deal with addiction to alcohol.

Yes, why do people tend to "bad mouth" others? I don't quite get this. Is it because you're failing in your own struggles? I've been in AA, Alanon, ACA for 22 years. My tobacco quit date was 3/15/08. Nicotine is by far the hardest drug to quit. So unless you've walked in these shoes . . . . don't slam another's struggles. It won't look good on you at all!