Delivery device for nicotine
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At just the tender age of two, Ardi Rizal's health has been so ruined by his habit of smoking 40 cigarettes a day that he now struggles to move by himself. The four-stone toddler's condition is set to rapidly deteriorate. Ardi, who is rarely seen without a cigarette, insists on the same brand, which costs his parents £3.78 a day. Local officials offered to buy the family a new car if the boy quits, but Ardi's parents feel unable to stop him because he throws massive tantrums if they do not indulge him. "He is totally addicted. If he does not get cigarettes, he gets angry and screams and batters his head against the wall," Ardi's mother wept. Ardi's youth is the extreme of a disturbing trend. Data from the Central Statistics Agency showed 25% of Indonesian children aged three to 15 have tried cigarettes, with 3.2% of those active smokers. The percentage of five to nine year olds lighting up increased from 0.4% in 2001 to 2.8% in 2004, the agency reported. Child advocates are speaking out about the health damage to children from second-hand smoke and the pressure to smoke. One-third of Indonesians smoke tobacco. Seto Mulyadi, chairman of Indonesia's child protection commission, blames the increase on aggressive advertising and parents who are smokers.
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