Barack Obama says he won't smoke cigarettes in the White House

While the burning question of whether he smokes still rages, Barack Obama says he definitely won't be lighting up in the smoke-free White House.

The president-elect addressed the subject during a television interview aired Sunday, acknowledging that he has sneaked a few puffs.

"There are times where I've fallen off the wagon," Obama said on NBC's " Meet the Press."

The does-he-or-doesn't-he question has been the butt of ongoing speculation.

Obama told the Tribune in February 2007 that he had quit at his wife's urging, but his comments this year have been somewhat hazy. He said in February that he was chewing stop-smoking gum Nicorette, in June that it had been months since his last cigarette, and in a November interview with Men's Health magazine that he was indeed smoking again—occasionally.

"But I figure, seeing as I'm running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack," he told the magazine, adding that he sometimes bummed a smoke along the campaign trail.

Obama's comments Sunday didn't really clear the air.

"I've done a terrific job, under the circumstances, of making myself much healthier," the president-to-be said. "And I think that you will not see any violations of these rules in the White House."

He said in the White House. That doesn't mean he might not sneak a few drags out in the Rose Garden.