Obama Quit Smoking, Exam Finds

In addition to nabbing bin Laden, Qaddafi, ending the war in Iraq and arguably averting a global financial meltdown of even bigger proportions, you can add “quit smoking” to Barack Obama’s list of accomplishments while in office.

Yes, secret smoker President Barack Obama is a secret smoker no more, doctors say, after the Commander in Chief struggled for years to put the habit behind him. And like many Americans, Obama needed a bit of a boost to get his smoking days well and truly behind him- Navy Capt. Jeffrey Kuhlman, the President’s doctor who declared him “fit for duty,” indicated last year that nicotine replacement therapy was helping.

So Obama quit smoking, but are there any other health concerns he faces after hitting 50? Kuhlman says the President is a model of good health for “men his age“:

Obama’s latest cholesterol numbers would be the envy of most American men his age. Kuhlman calls them “ideal,” in fact. Obama’s total cholesterol is 193, down from 209 seen at his last physical. His LDL, or bad cholesterol, is 110, well below the target of 130 or lower his doctor recommended in 2010… He’s up to date on his vaccines, including his flu shot. He sometimes takes nonsteroidal antinflammatory medicines after strenuous exercise. And when traveling to places where malaria lurks, Obama takes pills to cut the risk of infection. But that’s it as far as medicine goes.

Of course, it would be interesting to see if this changes somewhat after the rigors of a campaign year and relentless GOP attacks on his position, but it seems so far President Obama has held up well. Is the fact that the Commander in Chief has quit smoking likely to inspire more Americans to ditch the habit? Have you struggled to quit smoking?

(Full PDF of the President’s physical results here.)