Obama resolves to quit smoking

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., says he has decided that his presidential campaign marks the perfect opportunity for him to quit smoking.

Obama, who said he has had trouble quitting in the past despite not being a "heavy smoker," said he began his latest attempt over the holidays.

"I've never been a heavy smoker," Obama said. "I've quit periodically over the last several years. I've got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I don't succumb. I've been chewing Nicorette strenuously."

Experts say quitting could be good for Obama's image, particularly at a time when public attitudes are becoming increasingly hostile to smoking.

"Brand has become so big with personalities. It includes the kind of suit he wears and the shoes he chooses," said Irving Rein, a Northwestern University communications studies professor and author of "High Visibility," a book exploring the marketing of celebrities. "Smoking is part of that package. It doesn't go with the social, environmental message of reform he would like to project. His image would be impacted by it."