I’ve never smoked a cigarette, but from what I hear, trying to stop smoking is near impossible. Now, try and imagine getting a 2-year-old to stop doing, well, anything. Combine those two things and you’ve got yourself a miracle: The toddler in Indonesia who took the Internet by storm because he smoked 40 cigarettes a day has apparently kicked the nicotine habit.
Videos of the boy, Ardi Rizal, started to pop up in May and have since garnered millions of views on YouTube. Let’s face it, seeing a toddler smoke is as disturbing as it is bizarre, and that combination tends to score pretty well online. As AFP reports (via Yahoo), he was smoking two packs a day and “threw violent tantrums if his addiction wasn’t satisfied.” Sounds about right.
In July, Rizal went with his mother to Jakarta to undergo treatment. As Arist Merdeka Sirait, national commission for child protection secretary-general, was quoted, “He received psychosocial therapy for one month, during which therapists kept him busy with activities and encouraged him to play with kids of the same age.” And now, according to Sirait, “He has quit smoking and the most important thing is he doesn’t ask for cigarettes anymore.”
So, if you’ve been meaning to quit smoking but haven’t found the proper motivation, this has to rank right up there. If a 2-year-old can do it, so can you.
Screengrab by itnnews via YouTube.
