Obama: Won't smoke cigs in White House

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama says that while he occasionally sneaks a cigarette he does not expect to take the habit to the White House.

The former U.S. senator from Illinois said when his administration moves into the White House next year, he plans on doing all he can to maintain his limited cigarette smoking, The Chicago Tribune said Monday.

"I've done a terrific job, under the circumstances, of making myself much healthier," Obama said, referring to his reported battle with smoking during his presidential campaign. "And I think that you will not see any violations of these rules in the White House."

Obama would not specifically confirm or deny during a "Meet the Press" interview Sunday whether he now is smoking cigarettes.

The president-elect admitted during his presidential run that he had been occasionally smoking cigarettes and used nicotine gum, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.