Obama's "Habit": Washington Post, 28 Feb 10:
"U.S. President Barack Obama is in overall 'excellent health' but still struggles with a smoking habit… Obama uses a ‘nicotine replacement therapy‘ … Last June, when asked if he still smoked cigarettes, Obama said he was '95 percent cured' but added 'there are times when I mess up.'" So . . . why can't the President "just say no"? Are there drug-free treatment advocates who would criticize the President for resorting to "replacement therapy" - not even "substituting one drug for another," but merely the route of administration? Would anyone suggest Obama is a weak man, lacks willpower, or has a "psychiatric illness"? Or that he's lying when her says he wants to quit, and is really driven by sheer hedonism and refusal to give up some great joy he derives from smoking? And whatever leads to acceptance and understanding of Obama's "struggle," why is there so much vitriolic condemnation of "substitution" treatment (with methadone, buprenorphine, slow-release morphine etc.) in the management of opiate dependence?
posted by RGNewman, MD @ 7:23 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I find it pretty sad that the leader of the country, a man that has shoved a healthcare bill down out throats, promising big savings and the like, would turn around and light up a cigarette, which has been linked exhaustively to lung cancer along with other health effects. The fact that he cannot quit and resorts to substitution shows just how weak a person he is.
I have known many people who have quit cigarettes cold turkey. Sure, it is not the most enjoyable experience, but with enough willpower and determination, it can be done, without substitution treatments like patches and gums. There is not the same physical withdrawal one goes through with cigarettes that can be compared drugs such as heroin and alcohol.
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