Quit Cigars? No Way, Clinton Says

WASHINGTON —  President Clinton wasn’t about to swear off cigars when he announced his new campaign against teen-age smoking.

Clinton was questioned about his penchant for an occasional stogie during an East Room news conference Thursday. At one point he was challenged to make an on-the-spot pledge to give them up.

“You mean should I go from five or six down to zero a year?” Clinton responded. “Maybe so, but I don’t think that’s the point. The issue is whether children are smoking cigarettes in this country,” he said.

Clinton acknowledged that he should probably give up cigars altogether because he’s allergic to them, but he wasn’t about to take the pledge. “I try not to do it in any way that sets a bad example, but I plead guilty,” he said.