WASHINGTON (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday offered his most direct answer yet to a question that has been on everybody's mind since he entered the White House: He still smokes, but very rarely.

The taboo subject, which Obama and senior staff have ducked repeatedly since January, was revived this week as Obama signed legislation that places strict new controls on US tobacco companies.

Obama, a life-long smoker who vowed during the 2008 presidential campaign that he would never smoke in the White House, told reporters that he was "95-per-cent cured" of his addiction.

"As a former smoker I constantly struggle with it. Have I fallen off the wagon a few times? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No," Obama said at a White House press conference.

"I would say that I am 95 percent cured. But there are times where I've messed up," he said.

Obama said the US legislation approved this week was primarily aimed at preventing children from taking up the habit, and was unlikely to help him with his own battle. The new law includes a ban on sweet-flavoured cigarettes that critics argue targets children.

Obama said he never smokes in front of his family, including his two children, 8-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia.

"It's something you continually struggle with, which is precisely why the legislation we signed was so important, because what we don't want is kids going down that path in the first place," Obama said.

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