Apparently Ardi took his first puff at only 18 months old.
Equally as appalling was his parents' seemingly lax attitude and sense of discipline when it came to their son's addiction. Diane, the boy's mother, was quoted in saying: "If he doesn't get cigarettes, he gets angry and screams and batters his head against the wall. He tells me he feels dizzy and sick."
Mohamed, the boy's father, thought his son "looked healthy enough" and saw nothing wrong with Ardi smoking 40 cigarettes a day.
Due to pressure from the online and international community, the Indonesian government stepped in the affairs of the family and placed the toddler in a rehabilitation program for his cigarette addiction. The outraged public called for the family to change their ways.
Naturally, like any former addict, Ardi shifted his cigarette craving towards something else. He began to eat more as his body's way of coping with the lack of nicotine & most especially junk foods.
Soon enough, he was severely overweight and had to be treated for THAT different addiction.
Psychiatrist Dr. Kak Seto is the person to thank for the young boy's steady recovery. Along with play therapy sessions which helped remove possible addiction triggers, Ardi was given a strict healthy diet by a nutritionist.
