I'm not even sure what to think or say on this subject... who could ever think of or imagine a two year old smoking cigarettes... Not just smoking, but chronically smoking, 40 cigarettes a day?!?! It's just crazy! In America and many more countries, this kind of behavior would seriously be questioned and that kid would be receiving help from many people! - it wouldn't be accepted. I feel for the poor kid. He doesn't really know or understand what he's doing, people encourage or at least don't discourage his actions, and it's not even his fault he had the addictions in the first place, his mom smoked while she was pregnant. I guess I give kudos for the parents for trying to get him to stop smoking when in their culture, it doesn't really matter if kids smoke... then again, his parents are the ones who supported his smoking and allowed him to get addicted in the first place, and, they aren't even trying to get him to stop for the benefit of his health, they are only worried about trying to save that money they spend on the cigarettes. I can't believe Indonesia hasn't gone to more measures to stop this uprising fad. They must have figured out how smoking can seriously affect a person, and how kids smoking hurts them so much more since their bodies are growing, and because then they get addicted and continue smoking most, if not all, of their life. I just think this is them being stubborn or something, and it's extremely sad. They are saying it's ok for so many children and people to corrupt and stunt their lives. It's not ok. Well...I hope that they are successful in getting Aldi to stop smoking along with the thousands of other kids, and hopefully they come up with some solutions to change this part of their culture to make things better in the future.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
"Mom of Toddler Smoker in Indonesia Seeks Help for Him"
Recently, a video of a two year old in Jakarta, Indonesia was leaked onto the internet, this young boy was smoking a cigarette. The two year old, Aldi, is almost two times the weight of other children his age. In Indonesia, smoking is part of the culture, and it's not seen as hazardous or poisonous. Aldi's mother smoked when she was pregnant with him, but she and her husband have now quit smoking. She says, "Even when he was a baby and he would smell smoke he would be happy." She also says, "I don't remember when, but we went to the market and then suddenly he had a cigarette in his hand." Aldi smokes an average of 40 cigarettes per day. When Aldi doesn't get cigarettes, he throws tantrums, when he can't satisfy his addiction, he vomits. Indonesia has not accepted the World Health Organization's framework on tobacco control, so tobacco companies advertise aggressively. From 2001-2007, tens of thousands more children between the ages of five and nine have began smoking. This doesn't include children below the age of five, like Aldi. Aldi's parents are trying to get him to stop smoking, but sadly, their motivation is not Aldi's health, it's to cut the cost of buying cigarettes.
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