In 2010, the video of Ardi Rizal smoking while still a baby went around the world without the power that social networks now have, and that is due to his incredible problem: at only 1 and a half years old, he smoked up to 40 cigarettes a day.
The video went viral on YouTube, the scene was his home in Indonesia and the actor in the clip a baby walking around in diapers with a lit cigarette in his mouth. The images alarmed people, the press and the authorities, due to the evident addiction problem of the minor and a general warning about the public health crisis.
Now, 12 years later, Ardi Rizal has become one of the youngest people to overcome addiction to cigarettes, according to The nation.
How did Ardi Rizal start smoking?
The father was the first person to give Ardi a cigarette, then he, who accompanied his mother to sell fish in the area, began to steal them in the square of the Teluk Kemang village in the south of the city of Sumatra.
In addition to the addiction to cigarettes, Ardi had to deal with an obesity problem. At 5 years old she weighed 24 kilos, almost six more than she should have weighed according to her height and age.
The mother, who was accused and pointed out for allowing her son to smoke and eat excessively, said that she tried to avoid it, but the little one, when she refused, was attacking himself.
“The first thing I did was confiscate the cigarettes and he would throw a tantrum. He started hitting his head, and even stabbed himself in the knee with a knife.”he explained.
He adds that the addiction to cigarettes also led to eating disorders: he would eat up to three chicken thighs, two bowls of meatball soup and a can of condensed milk in one meal.
After the case became known worldwide, Ardi’s parents decided to seek help. Three years later, the little boy began his rehabilitation process with the support of the child psychologist, Doctor Seto Mulyadi.
At 14 years old, Ardi Rizal is now in elementary school and is on a strict diet of fish and vegetables in order to regain his weight and is also away from cigarettes.