After a video of a chain-smoking 2-year-old Indonesian boy,
Aldi, went viral last year, piling up 13 million hits on YouTube, Indonesian
authorities sent the toddler to rehab to break him of his pack-or-two-per-day
habit.ABC's 20/20 went to the fishing village only to catch up
on Aldi, now 4, and found that he was far from the only child lighting up on a
regular basis. Here, a guide to the country's "epidemic" of tobacco-addicted
kids.
Aldi isn't the only smoking baby?
Sadly, no. Approximately a million children under the age of 16 smoke,
according to ABC News. Worse yet, one third of Indonesian children try smoking
before the age of 10. In some startling examples, the 20/20 crew met
2-year-old Chairul, who is fed cigarettes by his grandfather. Then there
was 7-year-old Maulana, living in a nearby town, who blows smoke rings
while his mother looks on.
Why is the habit so widespread among kids?
Cigarettes are incredibly cheap in Indonesia — costing a "mere"
dollar per pack. And there is no age limit for buying tobacco, so it's
perfectly normal to see a child purchase a single cigarette for 10 cents. It
probably doesn't help that cigarette advertisements are plastered on
school walls.
So, who is at fault?
Parents who freely give children cigarettes take some of the blame. But critics
of big tobacco companies say they are responsible, too. Some cigarette makers
have long taken advantage of the absence of restrictions in foreign countries,
including those that don't prohibit them from like specifically targeting young
people. "The tobacco industry rides roughshod over public health
interests" in Indonesia, says Mary Elizabeth Williams in Salon.
Is anyone trying to help the situation?
It's unclear. Philip Morris International responded to the viral video
and 20/20investigation with an email saying it supports
"strict regulation of tobacco products," and encourages the
Indonesian government to introduce laws that would ban cigarette sales to
minors. Unfortunately, anti-tobacco legislation has died in parliament.
What about Aldi? Is he still smoking?
He has reportedly quit, though he says he misses it. But Aldi reportedly
bargains with his desperate mother, getting her to buy him toys as a reward for
keeping his lungs smoke-free. Aldi's mother says she wishes she had
never let him start, and admits that she caught him lighting up recently.
