4-year-old Indonesian quit smoking and began to overeat

At the age of two, this kid shocked the whole world when it was revealed that he smoked up to 40 cigarettes a day. Aldi Rizal became famous all over the Internet when he was photographed with a cigarette in his mouth riding a tricycle. Two years have passed, now this young smoker has got rid of the bad habit ... changing it to another one. Now he's addicted to food!

(Total 9 photos)

1. Public outrage led the Indonesian government to launch a program to address the problem of children's smoking and set up a special rehabilitation center to help Aldi quit smoking. The boy was sent for treatment to Jakarta, where they tried to distract him from his bad habit with games.

Two years later, social services returned to the Indonesian village where Aldi and his family live to find that the boy had quit smoking, but his health was still far from ideal.

2. “Many people still offer Aldi cigarettes,” his 28-year-old mother says, “but he refuses.”

The boy himself admits that he likes Kak Seto (the doctor who still visits their family) and that he will be very upset if Aldi starts smoking.

3. When the boy was weaned from cigarettes, he threw tantrums, and only Dr. Kak Seto could calm him down. But now the boy doesn't even look at the cigarettes. But now he looks at food ... and quite often. Quitting smoking, Aldi developed another bad habit in himself - he began to eat, every time he wanted to smoke.

4. The boy's mother tells:

“When Aldi quit smoking, he demanded toys. He might even start banging his head against the wall until he was given what he needed. That's why I gave him cigarettes - that's how he calmed down. I don't let him smoke anymore, but he eats often now. Considering that so many people live in our house, it is not surprising that he is constantly fed.”

5. Aldi also helps parents to manage their market stall - thanks to his bright appearance and chubby cheeks, Aldi attracts a lot of buyers.

“I like it when people talk to him, but I don't like it when they call him 'little smoker'. It feels like they're trying to accuse me of being a bad mother."

6. Aldi's weight does not correspond to the weight of a healthy child at his age.

Ideally, he should weigh 17-19 kg, and his weight is already 24 kilos. Aldi is a spoiled boy, he is used to getting what he wants, so it will not be easy to wean him from the habit of eating junk food.

7. The boy drinks three cans of condensed milk a day and also eats too many carbohydrates. And because of the problems with nicotine, which the boy has already managed to go through, the situation with being overweight can only get worse.

8. Now Aldi has returned to his fishing village, where he sits on a strict diet of fresh fruits and vegetables and tries to eat small portions. The mother will also have to persuade the rest of the household not to give him food when she is not around.

9. Doctors hope that when Aldi manages to lose 3-5 kg, his weight will return to normal, because he is growing.

According to statistics, a third of children in Indonesia start smoking before the age of 10 years. The government is taking timid steps to solve this problem.