Smokin’

Just when you thought the anti-smoking campaign might be working, along comes a news story that proves otherwise. Ardi Rizal, aged two years, has a 40-per-day smoking habit. His mother has tried to get him to stop, especially since the government has offered to buy the family a new car once the child quits, but she says he is entirely too addicted. His father, on the other hand, doesn't see any problem - "He looks pretty healthy to me..." In the meantime, Ardi's health is such that he can't run around and play with the other kids. Instead he rides around on a plastic toy truck while puffing away, looking like a parody of a middle-aged truck driver.
     Posted By: Nethie - Thu May 27, 2010
     Category: Addictions | Health | Tobacco and Smoking | Smoking and Tobacco | More Things To Worry About





Comments
Not my kid, not my problem and I don't really think this is that unusual. 2pks a day, yea, that's quite a bit, but kids smoking? I've seen pics of this before.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 05/27/10 at 09:42 AM
The toy truck is missing the mudflaps with the proper picture on them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudflap_girl
Posted by ANON in Nowhere on 05/27/10 at 10:23 AM
You know Bumper, a lot of us live south of Columbus, Ohio or in Kentucky and West Virginia. I can see why you'd be ashamed to put your name on that pile of bigotry.

Allen, the child's mother claims that he throws massive tantrums if they don't give him the cigarettes, going so far as to bash his head against the wall. Combine that with the father not seeing a problem, and she's fighting a losing battle.
Posted by Nethie on 05/27/10 at 02:41 PM
Thanks Nethie for saying in some way what I don't get into saying or replying here. A big hug and kiss goes out to you for speaking up against the bigotry and hate most people just want to profess these days. I guess it makes them feel better about their own misery if they can find a way to hate others and possibly make them feel as bad or angry as they are.
Posted by ANON in Nowhere on 05/27/10 at 05:22 PM
Unfortunately they will never make cigarettes illegal, anywhere. There's too much money in the tobacco industry for the governments of the world to ignore it. But I agree with you about letting him throw his tantrums and stop indulging him.

BD, "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" (quotation attributed to Burke). Making fun of others is OK, to a point, but rabid intolerance is never acceptable.
Posted by Nethie on 05/27/10 at 07:11 PM
Well, if you think the above link is too "Tabloid" for your tastes, you can read the story on MSNBC; it was a feature on the Today Show. Be sure to watch the Today Show video of these tabloid doctored images as well. Although I suppose there are people who feel MSNBC is as tabloid as it gets.
Posted by Nethie on 05/27/10 at 08:35 PM
Don't forget the kid comes from a society where smoking is still OK, in fact, one of the reasons that Big Tobacco was prepared to let the US slide so much is because the Far East is such a lucrative market that they can make more profit there than here. Also, a fat baby is a healthy baby in that neck of the woods. Combine the two with a father who doesn't see it as a problem and voilà! Like Nethie said, this mother is fighting an uphill battle.
Posted by TheCannyScot in Atlanta, GA on 05/27/10 at 08:59 PM
@PassinBy: The only reason to raise the price of a pack to $50 is to collect more taxes. Cost doesn't stop people from smoking it just places a financial burden on low-income families.

Outlaw it? That worked real well with hooch (ref: Chicago vs Capone) and is going great with weed (ref: Arazona) and drugs.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 05/27/10 at 11:57 PM
Alright, I'll try one more time 😊 My fiance, who is Norwegian, sent me the original link for this story, so the video and article are in Norwegian. I didn't want to post the Norwegian version here as most of visitors speak English. However, as Cougar still believes the entire story is fake, here's the original Norwegian video.
Posted by Nethie on 05/28/10 at 10:16 AM
I have a lady friend who lives in Sandnes, Norway Nethie. I'm slowly learning Norwegian. So.. God Morgen to you 😊
Posted by ANON in Nowhere on 05/28/10 at 10:46 AM
A video of the kid smoking:

Ciggie Smalls in Action

This isn't a hoax. I do animation and graphic design for a living and the time it would take to pull this off wouldn't be worth the effort. Plus, it would take a kid that can act like he is smoking or some brilliant manipulation.
Posted by Pablo on 05/28/10 at 02:03 PM
It's a global conspiracy! After all, the story is only being repeated on CBS, in Forbes, in The Huffington Post, on the CBC in Canada, on Yahoo News, in the LA Times, on FOX News (course FOX canceled Firefly so they aren't very reputable to me), on AOL... and so on. If it's fake, I'm happy enough to be duped along with these other sources. 😊
Posted by Nethie on 05/28/10 at 02:12 PM
dumbfounded, way to defend your girls here on wu! 😉 nethie, some people don't believe certain things no matter the evidence or sources. (think evolution and born agains)(duck-dodge :shut: )
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 05/28/10 at 04:20 PM
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