Sweet outtake: Obama, battling nicotine withdrawl plugs Nicorette for curbing craving.

A Sweet blog special.

WASHINGTON–“Actually, Nicorette works pretty well,” said Barack Obama, a closet smoker coming out as the spotlight shines on him with his White House run.

Here’s the scene on Tuesday morning.

It’s after a press conference Obama, the Illinois Democrat running for president, called to draw attention to his legislation to pull troops from Iraq.

A pack of scribes follow him from the Senate Radio-TV gallery because a newsmaker in these informal post press conference moments often commits more news. The sharp elbowed scribes jostle to keep within earshot of Obama to catch his words.

Obama has been loathe to ever appear in public smoking and has hedged in the past when asked about his habit. I remember a few times being with Obama in the Capitol where his suit smelled of smoke.

Anyway, now he is trying to quit.

“My wife wisely indicated that this is a potentially stressful situation, running for president,” Obama said.

“And she wanted to lay down a very clear marker. She wants me healthy throughout any process.”

Is is hard to quit, he was asked.

“It’s one of those habits. You quit for awhile an then you start back up. Actually, Nicorrete works pretty well.”