The Famous Smoking Indonesian Baby Has Kicked the Habit
Those who enjoy viral videos will certainly remember Ardi Rizal, the 2-year-old Sumatran baby who became an internet sensation – and striking symbol of the consequences of parental over-indulgence – after clips surfaced of him puffing away on cigarettes like a tiny, brown-skinned Mad Men character. And if you don’t in fact remember Ardi, here he is doing his thing:
Those who greeted Ardi’s story with horror instead of amusement will be happy to know that, after undergoing a 30-day treatment program, the boy has now kicked his 40-cigarette-a-day habit.
“He has stopped smoking and doesn’t ask for cigarettes anymore,” declared the chairman of Indonesia’s National Commission on Child Protection. He added, “[Ardi] needs to be in a smoking-free environment so that he doesn’t start smoking again.”
And another thing that might help Ardi not smoke? People not giving him cigarettes. I mean, it’s not like a 2-year-old can walk into a Shell station and ask for a carton of Luckies, so the only way he gets them is if other people score them for him.
Also, since the average 2-year-old probably lacks the manual dexterity to use a lighter, that means someone else was lighting them for him (the first one of the day at least; after that he could light a new one off the last like a babe in a Raymond Chandler novel). What I’m driving at here is, there’s no way a 2-year-old becomes a smoker if adults don’t deliberately help him to become one, and the only reason adults would do that is if they thought it was funny. So, basically, this poor kid’s entire circle of family and friends is a bunch of dicks. That being the case, I give him about a 2% chance of making it to the age of 6 with all his organs and limbs still working.
Sorry Ardi, but you never had a chance. Might as well light up.
