The most well-known case of a child smoker is that of Ardi Rizal, an Indonesian who became internationally famous in 2010, when a YouTube video showed the boy, around 2 years old, walking in diapers while smoking. He consumed up to 40 cigarettes a day, an alarmingly high number for such a young child.
Ardi Rizal's case was not an isolated incident, but rather a reflection of a serious public health crisis that left children vulnerable in other parts of Indonesia. After the video went viral, international attention revealed that child smoking was a silent epidemic in the region, driven by the lack of regulation of the tobacco industry in the country at that time.
Other cases of very young children with strong nicotine dependence came to light at the same time. One of these was an Indonesian baby of only 2 years old who smoked with the consent and assistance of his grandfather, whose videos also went viral shortly after Ardi Rizal's case.
