Two-year-old child smokes 40 cigarettes a day putting his health in danger

Child advocates are concerned about children’s health from second hand smoke and the pressures that are put upon them to take a cigarette within a county where one-third of its population uses tobacco.

Ardi, a child from the village of Musi Banyuasin in Indonesia, smokes cigarettes while playing with his toy trucks. His father, a local fisherman, is the person who gave Ardi his very first cigarette when he was just 18 months old. Ardi will only smoke one brand of cigarettes and costs his parents $5.50 (3.78 pounds) every day. His mother cries while claiming her son is absolutely addicted and if he does not get his cigarettes, he becomes angry and screams while beating his head on the wall. He tells his mother he becomes sick and dizzy without them.

The image of this young child covers up some disturbing truth; at this tender age, Ari Rizal’s health is being ruined by his habit of smoking 40 cigarettes a day and today is struggling even move. This toddler is too unfit to run and play with other children and his health is rapidly deteriorating.

In spite of the cost of smoking, Ardi’s father said he seems pretty healthy and does not see a problem with it. Ardi is the extreme of this very disturbing trend. The Central Statistics Agency shows data that 25 percent of Indonesian children between the ages of three and 15 have tried a cigarette and 3.2 percent of these children are considered active members.