This Just In
September 2nd, 2010
09:23 AM ET

Smoking baby reportedly has quit

The tubby Indonesian toddler who caused a sensation last spring by enthusiastically puffing on cigarettes in a widely viewed video has quit smoking, according to media reports.

Two-year-old Ardi Rizal of South Sumatra, who reportedly smoked 40 cigarettes a day, has broken his nicotine addiction through a 30-day rehabilitation program, the Jakarta Globe reported Thursday.

"He has stopped smoking and doesn't ask for cigarettes anymore," Arist Merdeka Sirait, chairman of Indonesia's National Commission on Child Protection, said, according to another publication, Earth Times.According to earlier reports, the child was placed in state custody after the video emerged and the boy’s parents said he would cry and throw tantrums if he went too long without smoking a cigarette.

Heavy smoking appeared to have caused the boy’s brain to shrink and could cause other health problems later, Sirait said, according to Earth Times.

"He needs to be in a smoking-free environment so that he doesn't start smoking again," Sirait said.

Anti-smoking advocates say Indonesia’s tobacco industry markets its products to children, according to the Globe.

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Filed under: Health • Indonesia • World
soundoff (350 Responses)
  1. joe joe

    Sure he says hes going to quit, but you know the next time he goes out drinking....

    September 2, 2010 at 3:10 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • J

      the little fatty prob drinks a liter a day.....

      September 2, 2010 at 3:13 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Mullah Lite

    hes on heroin now

    September 2, 2010 at 3:14 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  3. opeaa!

    ..This is not funny!! what are parents up to this day? this is really sad!

    September 2, 2010 at 3:16 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • Smoking Baby

      What are my parents up to? The same thing I am, sitting in the grass naked, puffing on a cigarette! What else do you think there is to do here?

      September 2, 2010 at 3:22 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Night Thief

    THING. THE HEARD

    September 2, 2010 at 3:17 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  5. Reddog9500

    @Dr. Hung Lo

    Back atcha.

    September 2, 2010 at 3:18 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  6. Emily

    It's incredibly that they actually think the fact that he throws a temper tantrum to ask for cigarettes is a good excuse for supplying him with /more/ cigarettes!! You've got to be kidding! Do they even /get/ the concept that they're his /parents/? What a bunch of morons!

    September 2, 2010 at 3:19 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  7. MEinFL

    I used to live down the street from this child. He is actually a very nice boy. Although I did share my smokes with him, I never let him drink my vodka, tho he asked many times to have some. His parents were trying to make some good out of it by trying to get Marboro to sponser him so they can pay for his sisters school. They don't have much money so please dont judge them

    September 2, 2010 at 3:21 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  8. J

    That little fatty needs to get on some crack and shed a few pounds. He will be dead of heart disease before lung cancer has a chance.

    September 2, 2010 at 3:23 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  9. Brian

    I am sure this is somehow the fault of while, male, conservative Americans.

    September 2, 2010 at 3:24 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • Dohn Joe

      You mean like the ones that grow it in Virginia and Kentucky?

      September 2, 2010 at 5:00 pm | Report abuse |
  10. mixedapproach

    If I'm Marlboro and approached to sponser this kid...I would expect him to smoke twice what he currently consumes. And if the camera is on him he best be firing up! End of story.

    September 2, 2010 at 3:26 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  11. Greg

    What they should have done is have that little porkchop running after a pack of cigeretts dangled from a string. Then at the end of the run throw the cigerettes in the water. Then he could jump in and bath after his workout. Kill 3 birds with one stone.....quit smoking, running to loose weight and bathing frequently.

    September 2, 2010 at 3:27 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  12. Bull Hockey

    Lots of kids smoke, carry guns and even have children. We just don' t cover that sort of news here in the States. 3 is young though, pretty sad....kid will have mental problems. But so will the infants and babies in Afganistan whose screams are silenced by their opium smoking mothers when the smoke is blown on them to quiet them. Children are heroin addicts in Afganistan. We don't really get news reels on that either.

    September 2, 2010 at 3:28 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  13. mixedapproach

    Greg = thinker

    September 2, 2010 at 3:28 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  14. Guest

    From the way that kids eyes look, I don't think he was smoking cigs ;)

    September 2, 2010 at 3:32 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • J

      word, I thought this story was out of China..... He's just smoking some chronic give the fat little bro a break....

      September 2, 2010 at 3:36 pm | Report abuse |
  15. Tommy Pave

    Just wait, when has a beer he start back up....

    September 2, 2010 at 3:34 pm | Report abuse | Reply
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