The 2-year-old Indonesian boy, Ardi Rizal, who smoked nothing less than 40 cigarettes daily, has turned 9 years old.
Do you remember the two-year-old tot who shocked the world with his smoking habit?
The news was all over the internet. Videos of him crying when a stick of cigarette was taken from him, went viral.
Rizal from a remote village in Sumatra, became the focus of international concern when the photos of him smoking were first revealed.
The news caused concern and outrage when he was seen puffing away while riding his bike seven years ago.
Fresh reports however have it that Rizal, now nine, has kicked the habit and turned a new leaf.
But it hasn’t been an easy journey for the minor.
This is just as he developed a food addiction after giving up cigarettes when he was five.
A development that caused him to pile on weight.
Over the last few years, however, he has managed to lose the extra pounds.
His condition was so severe the Indonesian government intervened.
Weighing 22kg by age five, Rizal made headlines again for being almost six kilogrammes above the ideal weight for a child of his age.
This led to an investigation into his parents and his community by Indonesia’s Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry.
Intensive specialist care, Rizal’s parents were able to wean him off cigarettes, only to have his addiction replaced with food.
Child smoker in Indonesia, Ardi Rizal
The nine-year-old, who consumed three cans of condensed milk a day, was restricted to a diet consisting of fresh fish, fruit and vegetables to help him lose weight.
Now much healthier, Rizal has managed to keep his compulsions at bay by focusing on excelling at school.
And with the help of Indonesia’s government and a nutritionist, he has re-emerged as an addiction-free nine-year-old.
Four years ago, his mother said:
“At first when we were weaning Rizal off the cigarettes, he would have terrible tantrums but he doesn’t want them now.”
She further revealed that the smoking addiction started when Rizal’s father gave him his first cigarette when he was only 18 months old.
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How could his father give him cigarette to smoke at that age? That was weird.
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Ardi Rizal at 9
