Chain-smoking toddler on '40 cigarettes a day' is unrecognisable after quitting

04 November 2023 , 10:03

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Ardi quit smoking after gaining an addiction when he was a toddler (Image: Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

A toddler who chain-smoked a whopping 40 cigarettes a day has made an incredible transformation after beating a tough battle against his addiction.

Ardi Rizal, from Sumatra, Indonesia, was only two when he developed the uncontrollable habit. Shocking images of him casually smoking tobacco surfaced online and made him a global phenomenon in 2010. In one picture, he could be seen smiling as he posed with a cigarette while playing on a toy in a field. In another, he was laughing as he puffed on the tobacco again.

He eventually tried to quit which sparked chaos in his household as he would smash his head against the wall. Ardi struggled to tackle the addiction as he would have a sour taste in his mouth and experience dizzy spells.

Ardi smoked 40 cigarettes a day (Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

"It was hard for me to stop. If I am not smoking, my mouth taste is sour and my head feel dizzy," Ardi told CNN in 2017. He added: "I am happy now. I feel more enthusiastic, and my body is feeling fresh." The then-toddler became addicted after his dad gave him a cigarette at a mere 18 months. His mum, Diane, became concerned with the effects of smoking and begged for help from the Government.

Ardi pictured at the age of nine after he lost some weight (Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Diane told the Daily Mail in 2013: "When Ardi first quit smoking he would demand a lot of toys. He (would) start to smash his head to the wall. He was crazy, hurting himself if he didn't get a cigarette. That's why I get him cigarettes in the first place – because of his temper and his crying. Now I don't give him cigarettes but he eats a lot. With so many people living in the house it's hard to stop him from getting food."

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Ardi was so unhealthy that he would down three cans of fatty condensed milk per day, and weighed a stone over the average amount for his age. He eventually managed to shed weight after fruit and veg was added to his diet.

Monica Charsley