Toddler who chain-smoked ’40-a-day’ is unrecognisable after quitting cigarettes

Date:

A two-year-old boy who chain-smoked 40 cigarettes a day now looks unrecognisable after ditching the habit years on.

Ardi Rizal, from Sumatra, Indonesia, was just a tot when he was shown smashing his head against a wall if he couldn’t smoke.

The chubby little boy made global headlines when shocking pictures showing him puffing on cigarettes circulated around the world in 2010.

But despite a sour and dizzying process to get off them, Ardi has successfully quit and shed the pounds by replacing his unhealthy diet with fruit and veg.

Ardi told CNN in 2017: “It was hard for me to stop. If I am not smoking, my mouth taste is sour and my head feel dizzy.”

Shocking pictures of Ardi circled the globe
Shocking pictures of Ardi circled the globe(AFP via Getty Images)
Aldi in 2010
Aldi in 2010(Barcroft Media)

He added: “I am happy now. I feel more enthusiastic, and my body is feeling fresh.

Shockingly, Ardi became hooked when his own father passed him a cigarette at 18 months old.

But concerned about how Ardi might hurt himself if he couldn’t get a hit of nicotine, his mum, Diane, sought help from a Government intensive care specialist.

At the time the unhealthy youngster was guzzling three cans of fatty condensed milk a day, weighing a stone over the healthy average for a boy his age.

Ardi now enjoys a healthy diet and lives cigarette free
Ardi now enjoys a healthy diet and lives cigarette free(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.”

Ardi holds up photos of himself as a tot when he smoked 40 a day
Ardi holds up photos of himself as a tot when he smoked 40 a day(Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Once his smoking days were behind him, Ardi swapped one addiction for another and developed a love for junk food which led for him parents to recruit a nutritionist.

Now he survives on a healthy diet of fresh fish, fruit and vegetables to help him keep a trimmer shape.

DAILY MAIL

Share post:

spot_imgspot_img

Popular

More like this
Related

Former Minister Duminda Dissanayake remanded further over discovery of gold-plated rifle

Former Minister Duminda Dissanayake remanded further over discovery of gold-plated rifle

Spike in respiratory illnesses across Sri Lanka as rainy season triggers viral surge

Spike in respiratory illnesses across Sri Lanka as rainy season triggers viral surge

Sri Lankan terms make their mark in Oxford Dictionary’s latest edition

Sri Lankan terms make their mark in Oxford Dictionary’s latest edition