two-year-old boy who throws a tantrum when his parents refuse him a cigarette

[Lucy's mom]

This is so freaking insane!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...cigarette.html

This is the two-year-old Indonesian boy who throws a tantrum when his parents refuse him a cigarette.
Ardi Rizal was given his first cigarette by his father when he was just 18-months-old.

The smoking toddler was witnessed by a reporter who recently visited his home in the fishing village of Musi Banyuasin, in Indonesia's South Sumatra province.

'I'm not worried about his health, he looks healthy,' shrugged the boy's father Mohammad Rizal.

'He cries and throws tantrums when we don't let him smoke. He's addicted.'

Ardi's youth is the extreme of a disturbing

[LadyL]

he looks obese too

yep, great parenting *eyeroll*

[angela]

Do they think it's cute?! Very disturbing.

[WhyaDuck?]

OK, aside from the health issues, the mother of a 2yo in me demands to know why anyone would think that giving a toddler something on fire is a good idea!

[JLMcKenna83]

He looks obese, but remember in 3rd world countries, being heavy is a sign of good health.

IMO... This is just sad.

While people in the western world are trying to enforce the dangers of smoking (not only in adults, but also in young developing lungs) and childhood obesity, these people are saying... "What, he looks fine.. and he throws a fit if we don't.. so to shut him up we give it to him..." If this child lived here, his parents would be brought up on endangerment charges, it just goes to show how different cultures view such things.

[Beyond Belief]

Cigaretts must be cheap to be sharing them with kids.

[Angelmuse]

Originally Posted by WhyaDuck?

OK, aside from the health issues, the mother of a 2yo in me demands to know why anyone would think that giving a toddler something on fire is a good idea!

Totally agree! Unbelievable!

[laura08]

Here is a video of him smoking. To be able to afford his 40 a day cigg habit, why don't they spend that money on help for his addiction. So sad.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/...id=64498&tsp=1

[oh_gal]

You know what's sad? The people who will get a kick out of this.

[jeeby]

Originally Posted by Lucy's mom

'He cries and throws tantrums when we don't let him smoke. He's addicted.'

Sounds like my hubby

Seriously who would think that was cute!?! Poor kid will be dead of lung cancer before he would legally be able to buy them in the US.

[utmomof2]

I really feel badly for this kid. And his mother uses the excuse that he throws a tantrum if he doesn't get his ciggies? Are you kidding me? Tough! I have a 3 year-old...if I gave in to his every demand in order to avoid a tantrum I would have a monster on my hands! Tantrums are never fun, but neither is lung cancer or emphasema at the age of 5.

[Elphaba]

I'm starting to think that this is a hoax... I think the "toddler" is well older and this may be a publicity stunt that he is in on. He is far too coordinated for a 2 year old, panders to the camera while smoking, makes like he is going to the put the hot end to his tongue like he is playing a game of attention, and if you look at stills from the video, his skin has scars and markings that make him look older than 2.

See, this could easily be someone well older than 2 with a genetic disorder that stunted their growth, in turn making them look way younger and putting their physique in the obese range. Someone could have gotten the bright idea to pull a stunt over there, just for the attention, and now are lapping up the uproar over it.

But then again, I may be wrong... but I'm telling you, something is off. If, and I mean a big IF, he really is 2: it isn't hard to say "no" to a 2 year old... their attention span doesn't last long enough to make their tantrums so unbearable to the point of thinking "Hey, I'll stick this dangerous piece of crap, that is killing him and draining our money, back in his mouth to shut him up."

[Donjeta]

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/as...aby/index.html

Mom of toddler smoker in Indonesia seeks help for him
By Arwa Damon, CNN
May 31, 2010 -- Updated 1430 GMT (2230 HKT)

*snip*

Smoking has been a part of our culture for so long it isn't perceived as being hazardous, as causing illness, as poisonous," said Seto Mulyadi, chairman of Indonesia's National Commission for Child Protection. "A lot of adults who are around children will smoke. They will carry a baby in one hand and a cigarette in another. Even mothers don't understand that they are poisoning their children."

Mulyadi met with Aldi in Jakarta, where his mother brought him for help. He said Aldi was a bright boy, quicker than most children his age.

He also said Aldi was a victim of his environment.

Mulyadi told Diana that she needed to find other things to occupy the boy's time.

But he told us what was disturbing was that the parents motivation to get Aldi to quit wasn't stemming primarily from an understanding of the risk to his health, but more from the cost of spending four dollars a day -- Aldi smokes an average of 40 cigarettes daily.

"Well, I don't want to give him cigarettes, but what I am I supposed to do? I am confused," his mother said. "I didn't let him smoke, I even forbade him from smoking, but I was trying to stop him from getting sick."

She showed us a scar on Aldi's head, where she said he smashed his head into a wall during one of his tantrums. She said he also vomits when he can't satisfy his addiction.

"I was smoking when I was pregnant, but after I gave birth I quit," she said. "I don't remember when, but we went to the market and then suddenly he had a cigarette in his hand. Even when he was a baby and he would smell smoke he would be happy."

Both she and her husband have quit smoking. She said that Aldi had cut down his habit in Jakarta and hopefully he will soon quit.

"For us, it's not shocking at all, but it's very, very sad," Mulyadi said. "What we know about this phenomenon is only the tip of the iceberg."

[Donjeta]

Good news for all smokers out there: If Ardi can quit, so can you!

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/interna...K8H3x7QuzlJECL

A two-year-old Indonesian boy who smoked about 40 cigarettes a day kicked the habit after receiving intensive specialist care, a child welfare official said Thursday.

Ardi Rizal shocked the world when a video of him drawing heavily on cigarettes appeared on the internet in May and drew attention to Indonesia's failure to regulate the tobacco industry.

"He has quit smoking and the most important thing is he doesn't ask for cigarettes anymore," national commission for child protection secretary-general Arist Merdeka Sirait said.



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/interna...#ixzz0yRZUXZpj