Indonesia's Famous Smoking Baby Has Finally Quit, But It's Still Too Hard For Most Adults To Do The Same There
Indonesia's Famous Smoking Baby Has Finally Quit, But It's Still Too Hard For Most Adults To Do The Same There
Find out more here about how the viral smoking toddler of days gone by has kicked the habit at last. Then, learn about the uniquely significant challenges Indonesians face in doing the same as part one one of the world's largest tobacco producers and least regulated countries.
Find out more here about how the viral smoking toddler of days gone by has kicked the habit at last. Then, learn about the uniquely significant challenges Indonesians face in doing the same as part one one of the world's largest tobacco producers and least regulated countries.
But if you think Ardi's struggle to quite smoking is intense...
Just wait until you find out what makes it so hard for Indonesian adults, like Rizal's father, to quit smoking. According to 8-year-old Ardi, he'll put out his dad's cigarettes if he catches him smoking, but that hasn't stopped the man yet. Ardi says to his father:
I quit and you didn't. If we smoke, we will ruin our lives. Nerves and brain, all will be ruined. Throat, teeth...
Ardi Rizal
Sydney Daily Herald, June 18, 2017
But it's nearly impossible for an adult (or teen for that matter) living in Indonesia to quit smoking when they have a largely unregulated tobacco industry and remain one of the world's largest producers of tobacco. In fact, Indonesian parliament is still passing pro-tobacco legislation. An upcoming bill would increase their tobacco production to 524 billion cigarettes per year, triple their current production, and while some say the bill is more about cutting down on imported tobacco and protecting Indonesian tobacco farmers, many are appalled by the increase. According to The 2016 Tobacco Industry Interference Index:
If passed, this bill has the potential to roll back the few achievements in tobacco control such as the pictorial health warnings currently applied on cigarette packs.
2016 Tobacco Industry Interference Index
Sydney Morning Herald, June 18, 2017
Currently, cigarette packs in Indonesia must by law be at least 40% covered by graphic warnings about the dangers of smoking, and in 2009, lawmakers attempted to pass a bill that would prevent public smoking and smoking by pregnant women and children. But as demonstrated by Ardi Rizal and thousands of other Indonesian children, these laws are simply not enforced and hardly effective. According to 13-year-old Indonesian smoker Sandi Saputra:
I started smoking when I was in first grade, seven years old, because everybody was smoking, all my friends. My parents know I smoke, they don't mind. I smoke, but I am not addicted to it. It's just like candy. I can stop anytime.
Sandi Saputra
Sydney Daily Herald, June 18, 2017
In fact, 85% of schools in five Indonesian cities studied were surrounded by tobacco ads, and an estimated 20% of Indonesians between the ages of 13 and 15 already smoke.
Here are 7 more flooring statistics on smoking in Indonesia:
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And with a lack of resources available to its citizens trying to quit smoking, it's no surprise that although Ardi Rizal was able to finally quit smoking, it took six years, several self-harm injuries, an overeating problem, and finally two months in therapy to make the change stick, and it's also no surprise that Ardi's dad still hasn't stopped or that other Indonesian kids are still drawn in every day to smoking.
Any controls are notional where kids are heavily exposed to cigarette adverts that make smoking seem cool and glamorous.
Mike Daube
Sydney Morning Herald, June 18, 2017
But now, what we'd like to know is...
Do you think there should be stricter laws about smoking worldwide?
Do you think there should be stricter laws about smoking worldwide?