Ardi Rizal, who lives in the South Sumatran fishing village of Musi Banyuasin, appeared on the internet in May, drawing attention to Indonesia’s failure to regulate the tobacco industry.
Six months after his father gave him his first cigarette, the overweight boy was smoking two packs a day and threw violent tantrums if his addiction was not satisfied.
But after leaving the village in July to undergo treatment in the capital, the national commission for child protection have confirmed he has quit and no longer asks for cigarettes.
“He received psychosocial therapy for one month, during which therapists kept him busy with activities and encouraged him to play with kids of the same age,” Arist Merdeka Sirait, the child protection secretary general said.
“We diverted his addiction from cigarettes to playing.”
You can read more here, and check out the original video of him below.
