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When Tom Brokaw pressed President-elect Obama about his smoking habit on Meet The Press Sunday, Obama's answers revealed the struggle of all cigarette smokers - the addiction.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines addiction as “a condition of compulsive drug seeking and use, even in the face of negative consequences.”

But because the tobacco sticks, which contain the addictive drug nicotine, are legal and manufactured and sold by powerful companies with a monster lobby, we use language to describe cigarette use that belies the addiction and negative consequences.

Think about it. We say "habit" instead of "addiction." Or "smoker" instead of "addict."

And that language was evident in Obama's conversation with Brokaw.

Brokaw: “Have you stopped smoking?” Translation: “Are you still using?”

Obama: “…there are times where I have fallen off the wagon.” Translation: “I'm struggling with my addiction.”

Brokaw: “Wait a minute. That means you haven't stopped.” Translation: “You ARE still using!”

Obama: “I have done a terrific job under the circumstances of making myself much healthier.” Translation: “I am a recovering addict who just ran for president. You do the math.”

My point is, let's call it what it is - addiction. Let's rally behind Obama in his struggle with that addiction and use his battle with the butt to highlight the 25% of Americans who can't stop smoking cigarettes.

If you're still not sold on the addiction idea, chew on these sobering facts from the National Institutes of Health:

- Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability and death in the United States.

- Cigarette smoking results in more than 400,000 premature deaths each year - about 1 in 5 U.S. deaths.

- Between 1964 and 2004, cigarette smoking caused an estimated 12 million deaths.