He chews nicotine gum to avoid regular smoking, and his doctor said that should continue. Asked earlier this month if the President had smoked cigarettes since moving into the White House, press secretary Robert Gibbs would say only, “I think the president would likely tell you, as I think anybody would that has smoked or been addicted to smoking, that it is — it is a lifelong struggle.” 
 
 The president today, however, suggested that today’s young smokers are actively being recruited, which is why the new legislation is necessary.
– It's got to be better than smoking in public, but President Obama's gum-chewing habit keeps getting him in trouble. The latest kerfuffle came in India, where Obama was watching a parade; reports noted his chewing of what was likely Nicorette. That incident has now made a number of headlines, with Politico reporting that the chewing occurred multiple times during the event as well as when Obama greeted PM Narendra Modi; the Times of India called it an "ungainly sight." The gum prompted some commentary on Twitter, noted by the Times. "Seriously—gum during a formal parade?" asked author Shobhaa De, while filmmaker Shekhar Kapur posted: "Glad to see @BarackObama is so human." Previous such moments have occurred in France and China, Vocativ reports, pointing to a Washington Post article from last year which noted, per earlier reports, that it was a doctor-recommended activity. Amid Obama's "lifelong struggle" to get off cigarettes, his physician recommended he stick with the chewing.