For all his war-mongering in the region, it seems Obama has more in common with Arabs than we first thought - or at least he used to!
You only have to walk a few steps down any given road in the Middle East before you are met with the wafting scent of cigarette smoke. It's no secret that Arabs love their ciggies, and it seems that the US president did too - until his wife, Michelle Obama, scared him out of lighting up!
The revelation about his wife's power over his smokes was made on Monday, when Obama was caught chatting off-guard with a UN official and was recorded by a CNN microphone saying said he hoped the official had quit smoking.
After the official appeared to ask Obama about his own cigarette use, Obama said he hadn't had a cigarette in probably six years.
He added, with a broad grin: "That's because I'm scared of my wife," British newspaper The Guardian reported.
Although it's unlikely than any wife (even if she is the lovely Michelle) could kick the long-running smoking habit of any given Arab, it's always refreshing to know that Obama is just like any other Middle Easterner and enjoys a cheeky Marlboro.
