# Were you suprised that Obama smoked? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 14, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661 "2011-03-14T15:41:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/1 "2011-03-14T15:41:12Z")
Was anyone else surprised when they learned that Obama smoked? Now, I will gladly give the man props for [quitting](http://newssimplified.com/us-first-lady-obama-kicked-his-smoking-habit/2921/). The fact that he did smoke just seemed odd to me. I couldn’t figure out why at first. I think it seemed so odd because I don’t think of well-to-do, educated people smoking at all. Since this is the straight dope, I know the logical response to that last statement is “The top ten highest income earning and educated people that I know all smoke like a chimney!!” So, just for the record, here are some Gallop poll [results](http://modeledbehavior.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/image2.png). Considering that the Obamas are in the far far lower right of that table, it is somewhat surprising. Was anyone else surprised? Maybe it was in contrast to Bush who was somewhat of a health nut. \*And just in case anyone wants to dispute if the Obamas are well-to-do or educated couple: Michelle graduated from Princeton and received her J.D. from Harvard. Barack graduated from Columbia and received his J.D. from Harvard. They made $4.1 and $2.6 million in 2007 and 2008, respectively (the only years I could find). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/2 "2011-03-14T15:47:02Z")
He did grow up in a time when smoking was declining but still acceptable. My high school(late 70s, California) had smoking areas for students. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/3 "2011-03-14T15:49:34Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > Was anyone else surprised? Maybe it was in contrast to Bush who was somewhat of a health nut. I wasn’t surprised. Like you predicted, I know many very well-off individuals who smoke. As for Bush - his wife Laura is a voracious smoker. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/4 "2011-03-14T15:50:00Z")
No, I wasn’t surprised (it first got on my radar when Obama announced his presidency…was reading an article about him and it mentioned he was a smoker). He’s a bit younger than I am, but still of my ‘generation’, and a lot of folks from my time are smokers. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/5 "2011-03-14T16:56:59Z")
I was surprised when I first learned it a few years ago, but it actually made me like him _more_. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/6 "2011-03-14T17:31:25Z")
Not too surprising. He admitted to some harder drug use in his Highschool days, and in my experience at least, most of the people I know who experimented with that kind of thing continued smoking tobacco well after they left the other drugs behind. > [@Hermitian](#): > > \*And just in case anyone wants to dispute if the Obamas are well-to-do or educated couple: Michelle graduated from Princeton and received her J.D. from Harvard. Barack graduated from Columbia and received his J.D. from Harvard. They made $4.1 and $2.6 million in 2007 and 2008, respectively (the only years I could find). FWIW, they were considerably less well off prior his book sales taking off after the '04 Dem convention. But in anycase, even then I’m sure there combined salary was more then the 90,000$ a year that makes up the top income bracket on your chart. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/7 "2011-03-14T18:24:57Z")
I don’t get the proposed correlation between “educated, well-to-do. . .” and having a substance addiction. Surely you’re not saying that’s the norm? Educated people are no more immune from self-abuse than anybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/8 "2011-03-14T18:37:30Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I don’t get the proposed correlation between “educated, well-to-do. . .” and having a substance addiction. Surely you’re not saying that’s the norm? Educated people are no more immune from self-abuse than anybody else. See the link in the OP. At least when it comes to tabacco, it appears that education and income do make one more immune to self-abuse. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/9 "2011-03-14T18:50:42Z")
I wasn’t really surprised. I _was_ surprised when I heard that he’d promised his wife that he’d quit if he could run for President. Because being on the campaign trail and under huge stress sounds like a great time to quit smoking…? Apparently he has quit now, which is very nice to hear. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/10 "2011-03-14T19:08:31Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > See the link in the OP. At least when it comes to tabacco, it appears that education and income do make one more immune to self-abuse. The link of a photo posted on some random blog that doesn’t even say anything about where it came from? Hmm. According to [this gallop poll](http://mulderscreek.com/photos/killhooker.jpg) college grads making over $90,000 are the most likely to kill hookers. But no, I’m not surprised. I’m more surprised to learn that someone his age never smoked. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/11 "2011-03-14T19:19:19Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The link of a photo posted on some random blog that doesn’t even say anything about where it came from? Hmm. According to [this gallop poll](http://mulderscreek.com/photos/killhooker.jpg) college grads making over $90,000 are the most likely to kill hookers. You think someone bothered to mock up a fake image of poll results to show correlations between education and smoking? It’d be like, the worlds most blase prankster. Next he’ll produce a graph showing household saving rates are anticorrelated with income. BWHAHA!! But anyhoo, the blog does in fact say where it came from. Here’s the same image on [gallups site](http://www.gallup.com/poll/127532/Income-Education-Levels-Combine-Predict-Health-Problems.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/12 "2011-03-14T19:28:32Z")
> [@newssimplified.com](#): > > The First Lady is also quoted saying that she may not know precisely when Obama kicked the habit as he didn’t smoke much. This is contrary to my friend that is on his secret service detail. He said that during his first two years in office, the POTUS smoked like a chimney. There were little stations set up in discrete places all over the West wing, on AF1, every presidential vehicle, with toothbrush/toothpaste, breath spray, and fabreeze. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/13 "2011-03-14T19:30:00Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > But no, I’m not surprised. I’m more surprised to learn that someone his age never smoked. I’m about 4 years younger than him and have never smoked. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/14 "2011-03-14T20:44:33Z")
I was surprised. I’m glad he finally had the gumption to give it up. John Boehner also smokes. That surprised me, too. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/15 "2011-03-14T20:53:46Z")
I didn’t find it a surprise that any of the (1900s and forward) presidents or First Ladies smoked–except maybe Jackie. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/16 "2011-03-14T21:21:48Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I was surprised. I’m glad he finally had the gumption to give it up. John Boehner also smokes. That surprised me, too. What does he smoke? Orange peels? ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/17 "2011-03-14T21:51:47Z")
Why would this be surprising, especially if you knew the amount of money he’s been making? Millionaires have the cash to try every single freaking thing in the world if they want to, and frequently feelings of entitlement and the immortality of youth (at least in their younger days) leads them to try every single freaking drug they can lay their hands on. Cigarettes are fucking nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/18 "2011-03-14T22:11:55Z")
It’s a lefty thing. Sartre, Castro, Kim Jong-Il – all big-time smokers. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/19 "2011-03-14T22:30:29Z")
I was a little surprised. He just doesn’t seem like he’d do it. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661/20 "2011-03-14T22:38:57Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > …it appears that education and income do make one more immune to self-abuse. And here I thought it was age and prostate problems that made you immune. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-suprised-that-obama-smoked/574661.md?page=2)