Too unfit to run: Two-year-old who smokes 40 cigarettes a day puffs away on a toy truck By Mail Foreign Service Last updated at 2:59 PM on 27th May 2010 Taking a deep drag on his cigarette while resting on the steering wheel of his truck, he looks like a parody of a middle-aged lorry driver. But the image covers up a much more disturbing truth: At just the tender age of two, Ardi Rizal's health has been so ruined by his 40-a-day habit that he now struggles to move by himself. The four-stone Indonesia toddler is certainly far too unfit to run around with other children - and his condition is set to rapidly deteriorate. Truck on bad habits: Ardi Rizal sits smoking on his favourite toy at home in Musi Banyuasin, Indonesia But, despite local officials' offer to buy the Rizal family a new car if the boy quits, his parents feel unable to stop him because he throws massive tantrums if they don't indulge him. His mother, Diana, 26, wept: 'He's totally addicted. If he doesn't get cigarettes, he gets angry and screams and batters his head against the wall. He tells me he feels dizzy and sick.' Ardi will smoke only one brand and his habit costs his parents £3.78 a day in Musi Banyuasin, in Indonesia's South Sumatra province. But in spite of this, his fishmonger father Mohammed, 30, said: 'He looks pretty healthy to me. I don't see the problem.' Ardi's youth is the extreme of a disturbing trend. Data from the Central Statistics Agency showed 25 per cent of Indonesian children aged three to 15 have tried cigarettes, with 3.2 per cent of those active smokers. The percentage of five to nine year olds lighting up increased from 0.4 per cent in 2001 to 2.8 per cent in 2004, the agency reported. Gun smoke: Four-stone Ardi puffs one of 40 cigarettes he smokes a day while toting a water pistol A video of a four-year-old Indonesian boy blowing smoke rings appeared briefly on YouTube in March, prompting outrage before it was removed from the site. Child advocates are speaking out about the health damage to children from second-hand smoke, and the growing pressure on them to smoke in a country where one-third of the population uses tobacco and single cigarettes can be bought for a few cents. Seto Mulyadi, chairman of Indonesia's child protection commission, blames the increase on aggressive advertising and parents who are smokers. 'A law to protect children and passive smokers should be introduced immediately in this country,' he said. A health law passed in 2009 formally recognizes that smoking is addictive, and an anti-smoking coalition is pushing for tighter restrictions on smoking in public places, advertising bans and bigger health warnings on cigarette packages. Puff baby: Ardi blows smoke while trundling around on his truck But a bill on tobacco control has been stalled because of opposition from the tobacco industry. The bill would ban cigarette advertising and sponsorship, prohibit smoking in public, and add graphic images to packaging. Benny Wahyudi, a senior official at the Industry Ministry, said the government had initiated a plan to try to limit the number of smokers, including dropping production to 240 billion cigarettes this year, from 245 billion in 2009. 'The government is aware of the impact of smoking on health and has taken efforts, including lowering cigarette production, increasing its tax and limiting smoking areas,' he said. Mr Mulyadi said a ban on advertising is key to putting the brakes on child and teen smoking. 'If cigarette advertising is not banned, there will be more kids whose lives are threatened because of smoking,' he said. Ubiquitous advertising hit a bump last month when a cigarette company was forced to withdraw its sponsorship of pop star Kelly Clarkson's concert following protests from fans and anti-tobacco groups. Always having a break: Ardi, who is rarely seen without a cigarette, insists on the same brand, costing £3.78 a day However, imposing a non-smoking message will be difficult in Indonesia, the world's third-largest tobacco consumer. Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto, a member of the National Commission of Tobacco Control, said Indonesia must also address the social conditions that lead to smoking, such as family influence and peer pressure. 'The promotion of health has to be integrated down to the smallest units in our society, from public health centres and local health care centres to the family,' he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe on Friday. Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih conceded turning young people off smoking will be difficult in a country where it is perceived as positive because cigarette companies sponsor everything from scholarships to sporting events. 'This is the challenge we face in protecting youth from the dangers of smoking,' she said in a statement on the ministry's website.
Who gave him cigarettes and taught him smoke in the beginning? There is no way a toddler picks up a cigarettes, lights it and starts smoking. That person needs to be put in jail.
he probably just followed his parents' example. they probably thought it was cute initially. what a nightmare it has become.
If you watch on youtube, it's even crazier. The toddler's father handed the boy cigarettes at 18 months old. Man, some adults smokes only two packs a day while the kid at 2 years old is doing 2 packs a day already! Unbelievable. If one looks at the surroundings, they shouldn't be able to afford much but they spent in on ciggies for the toddler?
Maybe it's time to start investing in tobacco companies again, now that China, India and Indonesia markets are opening up!
there is more to the story.. ..other than the fact that the kid smokes, apparently according to some local news tv reports, the kid also curses/uses vulgar language in his interview.. btw, looking @ the kid, i think he is more than 2 yrs old..perhaps he started smoking when he was 2 yrs old...he definitely doesn't have the face of a 2 yr old.. what an embarrassment!!
some called this fake news. probably because the press didn't get facts straight. A kid at his age should be watching Wonderpets and licking lollipops. I had a little cousin around his age and would never imagine him doing that. Ardi Rizal should be blessing n disguise. Who would have known we have gone this far?
i wonder if the kid actually swallowed the cigs or even chewed and swallowed the cigs when he was growing up..i can't imagine a 3 months old toddler already knew how to hold a cig (or several cigs) and huff and puff all day long..
Ok, let's double the kids age to 4 or even 5, still lots of ciggies a day! And the tricks he does with multi ciggies finger juggling is no child's play. I remember a while back when an elder brother of a 4 or 5 year old kid was taught to smoke cannabis, eventually the elder brother was imprisoned.
From 40 down to 15 ciggies! Indonesian toddler has finally cut back to 15 ciggies a day, thanks to therapy! Whew, at least that's a start!
He's cut down thanks to "therapy based on playing" - so basically distracting him with toys lol. Isn't that what he should have been playing with in the first place.
What idiot parents! I think parents these days let their naughty kids get away with everything. Yes, you can discipline your kids and if they scream and moan, let them and don't baby them or you will be babying them for the rest of their life. Nobody wants to tolerate your naught kids when they are out to enjoy their hard won free time. The worst is when parent just let their kids do stupid things and don't say anything when they are bothering other people.
By the looks of of it, seems like the parents are condoning the act and (actually) thinks it is pretty cool and fun to watch without taking into a/c the child's demise ultimately if unattended. It is actually a case of child neglect!
