Remember that hardcore two year old baby from Indonesia who shocked the world with his two-packs-a-day smoking habit? You can lay off on those phone calls to Child Welfare Services because National Commission for Child Protection Secretary-General Arist Merdeka Sirait has announced that Ardi Rizal has officially kicked the habit. Through “intensive specialist care,” child welfare officers have managed to “divert his addiction from cigarettes to playing.” And by playing, they mean food and Nicorette gum. Actually, it sounds more along the lines of hobbies and friends.
“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,” Sirait said…[He] said the government had given financial support to Ardi’s parents, who were ignorant of smoking’s dangers and used cigarettes to keep the toddler happy as they worked long hours at a street market.
Now, little Ardi can face a childhood of anxiety attacks, weight gain, teeth grinding, mild depression and the shakes. Congrats, Ardi and here’s to a healthy third year of your little life.
We here at 8Asians are also accepting wagers on whether this baby will relapse in 2011. Email us if you’re in on the betting pool.
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