Passive smoking in children. We help you resist temptation. If a child smokes

Problem nicotine addiction all over the world is quite acute. Perhaps the most unpleasant thing in this medical and social phenomenon Children are becoming more and more smokers. According to statistics, boys smoke their first cigarette at the age of 10, young ladies - closer to 13 years.

And although the initial experience usually does not give any pleasure, the child continues to smoke "for the company", fearing to stand out among smoking peers. According to narcologists, dependence is formed after the fifth cigarette smoked.

Not surprisingly, many parents are concerned about what to do if a teenager starts smoking.

It is not very difficult to identify a smoker in a child, because teenagers usually do not know how to pretend, hide their hobbies. Therefore, the main features smoking children visible to the naked eye:

And, of course, the most obvious indicator is if you caught a child smoking a cigarette. Here, as they say, do not turn away. But the stories of "well-wishers" who allegedly saw your offspring smoking should be treated with a fair amount of skepticism.

But this information should not be discounted either, you just need to take a closer look at your son or daughter.

Why does a child start smoking?

If a teenager is addicted to smoking, first of all, parents need to understand why the addiction arose, where the legs come from the first cigarette smoked. If you have a trusting relationship with a child, it's best to just talk.

In the case of secretive behavior of the offspring, you need to analyze your relationship, remember the circle of his friends.

Why does a child start smoking? Psychologists and narcologists distinguish the following reasons the emergence of such a habit:

the child follows the example smoking parents;
interest in cigarettes, that is, simply wanted to try;
imitates smoking friends;
smoking is fashionable, from his point of view;
started smoking on a dare, because his friends claimed that he was a weakling and a sissy;
the child focuses on smoking characters in movies, music videos;
"pecked" at the bright commercials demonstrating the approval of this lifestyle;
children protest against parental diktat in such a way, that is, the child starts smoking to spite his mother or father (this is from the series “no one understands me”);
boring and monotonous pastime, lack of other hobbies, for example, playing sports;
desire to taste the "forbidden fruit".

As you can see the list possible causes pretty impressive. However, the most significant and obvious motive is the personal example of smoking parents.

By the way, if you smoke yourself, it will significantly complicate the process of weaning your child from this addiction.

Before discussing the fight against this bad habit, it is necessary to dwell on how harmful nicotine is to the developing human body.

The modern child has a better attitude to scientific facts than to many hours of parental notation, not supported by anything but emotions.

most great danger nicotine contained in tobacco products, represents for the nervous system. This chemical compound easily depletes nerve cells manifested by fatigue, irritability, excessive excitability. Young smokers are always nervous and irritable.
Suffer from smoking and major mental processes. Memory is rapidly deteriorating, thinking also begins to malfunction. And the more a child smokes, the more clearly negative tendencies appear.
Another suffering side respiratory system. The respiratory organs, which are still imperfect, cannot process tobacco smoke and the tar, methane, and nitrogen contained in it. Most of these chemical compounds settles on the lungs, which provokes numerous colds. Then smoking adolescents begin to change their voice, shortness of breath and a barking cough appear.
suffering from smoking and tooth enamel. You must have noticed that many smokers yellow teeth. This is due to the temperature difference: the air inhaled by the child is colder than cigarette smoke leading to the destruction of tooth enamel.
A teenager addicted to cigarettes often gets worse skin. Numerous pimples pop up, the skin begins to shine. With excessive enthusiasm for this habit, a distinct yellowness of the skin and nails is observed.

Adults, upon discovering that their child smokes, most often react very sharply and impulsively, even if they themselves are heavy smokers. Consider the most common and controversial parental reactions to childhood smoking.

Advanced adults allow their offspring to smoke at home and even with them, arguing that they do not want him to puff on a cigarette somewhere along the doorways. Some children, embarrassed and feeling guilty, throw the pack away, while others perceive the permission as a guide to action and start smoking even more, gradually moving on to harder drugs.
The other extreme is to force the child to smoke the whole pack, so that he will literally feel sick afterwards even from the cigarette smell. On many forums you can find similar stories: "And my father made me smoke 20 cigarettes." However, for some reason such revelations are written by heavy smokers who continue to smoke. In addition, this method is simply dangerous for the health of the child, there is a high probability acute intoxication body and even death.
Another method is prohibition. Parents, demanding to quit nicotine, forbid the teenager to communicate with the “bad” company, go out in general, deprive him of pocket money and other privileges. The most common child reaction to such a parental step is a demarche, a rebellion, that is, the child will do everything out of spite: “They oppress me - I will smoke even more!”

Of course, the possibility of getting a reaction from a teenager does not mean that adults should not try to solve the problems that have arisen. Just parents should be guided by common sense and respect the child's personality.

The statistics are relentless - most often children start smoking in those families in which one or both parents also like to smoke a cigarette. Therefore, the very first way to prevent this bad habit is your own parental example. Agree, it is useless and even immoral to talk about the dangers of smoking or undesirable consequences holding a cigarette in hand. What else needs to be done?

It would seem banal advice, but many parents neglect it. It sounds simple - try to spend more time with a teenager, more often and sincerely be interested in his successes and failures. Try to share his hobbies: if he loves cycling, keep him company. Of course, you should not try to replace your peers and become "one on the board", you must remain an authority.
So that the child does not say: “No one listens to me and respects me,” provide him more freedom when choosing clothes, literature, musical preferences. So you reduce the risk of a bad habit due to teenage rebellion and the desire to act out of spite, showing your adulthood and independence.
If your child is unsure of himself and tends to act “for the company”, being a leader in life, try to teach him to defend his own point of view and have his own position. Explain that you should not be like peers, smoking because friends smoke cigarettes. After all, a mature person knows how to resist the opinion of the crowd.
Conversations about the dangers of nicotine should not be started in adolescence, and even in childhood, when kids first ask questions about "smoking sticks", "rings of smoke coming from their uncle's mouth." Here it is important to observe moderation, that is, you do not need to brush off the curious toddler, but you should not intimidate him with scary stories and pictures. Consider the age of the child!

The best “vaccination” against smoking is sports.

First, the child develops a negative attitude towards cigarettes, which can destroy him. sports career. Secondly, physical exercise contribute to the production of endorphins - hormones of happiness, which also resemble a kind of drug, but, of course, are good for health. And thirdly, sports activities accelerate physical development, so there is no need to show your adulthood with a cigarette.

What if a teenager starts smoking?

So, you found out that the child tried to smoke. What might be your reaction? Of course, this news will upset you, and it is even more likely that you will fall into irritation and even rage. The most common reaction is a quarrel, scandal, hysteria (if the mother starts the conversation), slaps and slaps. However, as psychologists assure, shouting will not help.

First of all, accept this news, try to “digest” it, calm down a bit, and only then start talking with your offspring and thinking about what to do in similar situation. And in fact, there are a lot of options for behavior. The choice of the most suitable one depends on several factors: the characteristics of the teenager, the reasons for his action, the psychological atmosphere in the family. What to do if the child tried to smoke?

First of all, try to find out why he started smoking, what became the main motive for this behavior. However, it is important not only to get an answer from the child, but to find out whether he himself understands what caused smoking, how dangerous it is for his health.
There is no need to start a serious conversation with an appeal to his age, they say, "you are still too young to smoke and generally decide something." This is the most unproductive beginning of the conversation, as the child will start doing out of spite to prove his adulthood. On the contrary, talk to him like an adult, making arguments.
If the reason is the desire to appear more mature, then try to prove that this is possible without nicotine addiction. An example would be some authoritative character - a musician, actor or a great athlete who does not smoke and actively spreads about it.
If you yourself are constantly smoking, it is time to end your addiction to cigarettes. You can offer your child to do it together - quitting smoking is always easier in the company. Tell him that it is much easier to give up the habit at first, give examples of acquaintances who successfully coped with addiction, discuss that the unwillingness of adults to fight the habit shows a weakness of character.
Present reliable medical data that clearly show the dangers of nicotine for children's lungs and other organs. look documentaries, look at the pictures (it is advisable to do without the "darkness"). The word "cancer" doesn't mean anything for kids yet, so focus on the implications for vocal cords, skin and tooth enamel.
If your child started smoking out of boredom, find something to do with him that will keep him busy. most his free time, so that there will be no time left for the desire to raise a smoke. Be sure to find out what is interesting to the teenager himself - for example, music, drawing. best way out, as we wrote above, go in for sports, because athletes simply cannot smoke. And the time left from training can be spent on joint trips and travels.
Be sure to keep track of your offspring's friendships. However, you should not forbid seeing the company, otherwise you will achieve the opposite result. It is better to find out what attracts the child to communication with these specific children. By finding out why he strives specifically for them, you can direct his energy in the right direction and along the way change your behavior. It is no secret that it is parental employment that often pushes teenagers to try something new and the desire to stand out in the crowd of peers.
An alternative way is to give the teenager full responsibility for their own health. Did you know your child started smoking? Pretend you don't care and let him make the decision to smoke cigarettes. Usually, children, having heard such words from adults, almost immediately give up a bad habit, because now it has become permitted, open, which means that now this fruit is no longer so forbidden and sweet.
Analyze the family environment, since emotional distress in the home is often manifested by children's addiction to cigarettes. Even with an external gloss, the child feels his uselessness, dissatisfaction with his role in the cell of society. He probably started smoking or is just trying to smoke to get your attention. This is a kind of return to early childhood, when the baby is outrageous in order to stay longer with you.
If, after a constructive conversation, a teenager has promised to quit smoking, give full support. Regularly ask how he feels, if he wants to pick up a cigarette again. Encourage and praise your child for every day they go without nicotine. This is his and your small victory!
If none of the suggested recommendations help and you are afraid that the child may become addicted to more than just cigarettes, do not hesitate to seek qualified psychotherapeutic help. The psychologist will analyze your situation and give specific advice that is right for you. Just do everything carefully so that the child does not perceive your desire negatively.

Only a friendly attitude and your patience will help to find the right approach to a teenager who smokes. Refuse screams and scandals, punishments and curses, it is better to establish the cause, and then proceed to eliminate the consequences.

Hello, I'm Nadezhda Plotnikova. Having successfully studied at SUSU as a special psychologist, she devoted several years to working with children with developmental problems and advising parents on raising children. I apply the experience gained, among other things, in the creation of psychological articles. Of course, by no means do I pretend to be the ultimate truth, but I hope that my articles will help dear readers deal with any difficulties.

Everyone knows the irreparable health damage from smoking. Despite this, the number of cigarette adherents is not only not decreasing, but is growing. Parents live in unreasonable fear that their child will develop this bad habit. And if this happened, in the end, what if the child smokes?

Why do children start smoking?

There are several reasons why young people try cigarettes:

feeling of adulthood;
bad Company;
misconception that smoking is fashionable;
the view that smoking has a calming effect;
the misconception that smoking promotes weight loss.

How to know if a child smokes?

Adolescents are especially careful to hide their attachment to tobacco. However, with some effort, parents can recognize the “danger” by:

Smell. True, children mask it with chewing gum, hazel leaves, toothpaste. However, the child's things, his hands and hair are saturated with tobacco smoke.
Frequent cleaning teeth.
Waste of money. The child may no longer have enough pocket money, and a trifle begins to disappear in the purse of the parents.
Detection of cigarettes in things, pockets, school backpack.
Smoking friends.

Naturally, the teenager will balk and deny that he smokes. But parents need to take action.

How to wean a child to smoke?

You should not follow the mistake of many parents, that is, scold or beat the child, punish him by forbidding him to sit at the computer or walk. This will cause a reciprocal negative, and the student will smoke twice as much out of spite.

It is necessary to have a conversation with the offender. But her character should be trusting, without reproaches, insults and threats. Express to your child your dissatisfaction with smoking, say that you are upset and upset.

In no case do not rely on the age of the student in a conversation, which can cause a backlash to prove your “adulthood” by smoking. Better explain that you can show your maturity, defend your personal opinion, by giving up a cigarette in the company of smoking friends.

Argument the refusal of a bad habit not only dry scientific facts impact on health. Tell about examples from the life of your acquaintances, relatives, friends. If possible, the child himself will communicate with a heavy smoker or an adult who has already got rid of this scourge. The child should have an idea of what to quit smoking on early stages much easier.

Parents who are concerned about how to get their child to quit smoking can be advised to send their child to the sports section. Then the teenager will be able to brag to the girl he likes not with a cigarette in his mouth, but with a steel bicep.

Lighting a cigarette, a heavy smoker rarely thinks about the inconvenience and harm he causes to those around him. First of all, this applies to the closest - family. Not everyone is pleased to inhale puffs of "aromatic" smoke, but, unfortunately, not everyone thinks about it, putting their own selfish desires in the first place. And if the family is also faced with such a problem as a smoking child, then panic may already begin. What to do?

How a habit develops

Cigarette smoke - insidious enemy. His pernicious influence on the body is not immediately noticeable, in contrast to the habit, which is formed quickly enough. The desire to smoke occurs when nervous tension, after meals and when it gets boring. The habitual ritual of deep inhaling creates the illusion of employment, cigarette smoke relaxes and soothes. At the same time, nicotine alkaloids, which eventually cause persistent addiction, are deposited on the mucous membranes. respiratory tract and through the blood vessels they penetrate the brain, where they actively influence the nerve receptors responsible for pleasure. In this way, psychological reasons habits are closely intertwined with physiological causes.

Smoking is a ticking time bomb

Narrowed by exposure to nicotine blood vessels, respectively, nutrition of the brain and internal organs getting worse. Vision suffers, the lungs are polluted, there is a "smoker's cough", chronic bronchitis, accompanied by a daily cough with an unpleasant expectoration. In addition to nicotine, tobacco smoke contains a number of resins that have a carcinogenic effect, radioactive polonium, and poisons such as formaldehyde, arsenic, and cyanide. These harmful substances are not completely eliminated from the body, accumulating over time and contributing to rebirth healthy cells into cancer. But these processes are rather delayed in time, so no doctor will indicate smoking as the immediate cause of the disease, only as co-factor. The causal relationship seems to be broken, smokers have no fear that his habit will certainly lead to poor health.

Passive and active smoking

Smoking can be active, when a person consciously exposes himself to nicotine, and passive, when the product of cigarette combustion is inhaled by people around him. The so-called especially dangerous for babies. Parents who smoke put their children at risk. Often their smoking causes allergic reactions, asthma, chronic bronchitis at their child. Even the smell coming from the mouth and from the clothes of the mother who has just smoked a cigarette is harmful to the baby, not to mention the nicotine that he receives from breast milk. During pregnancy, with every puff, a woman provokes oxygen deficiency in the fetus, which may subsequently adversely affect its mental abilities and cause congenital physical and neuropsychic underdevelopment. Smoking parents in front of a teenager is psychologically addictive to the process, it seems normal and makes the first step to a cigarette easier. No need to think that if smoking parents were born healthy child, then there will be no further problems. Unfortunately, they can occur much later, and not only in the child himself, but also in his descendants.

If a child smokes

A smoking child today, unfortunately, is not a rare phenomenon. Tough morals reign in the teenage environment in order to appear older and cooler, children begin to smoke and use obscene language, try alcohol. Not necessarily a smoker the child will go downhill, but the chances of this increase sharply. In these children, growth often slows down, the work of the gastrointestinal tract worsens, shortness of breath appears, heartbeat. Primarily affected by nicotine addiction cerebral blood supply which drastically reduces its function. Memory is impaired and logical thinking worsening concentration and coordination. Slowly, almost imperceptibly changing hormonal background. The teenager becomes more abrupt, nervous, during puberty, problems with underweight or, conversely, its excess may appear. Girls often have irregularities menstrual cycle, young men have malfunctions in the reproductive system.

Causes of early youth smoking

Statistics show that children smoke cigarettes for the following reasons:

Smoking parents or older brothers, sisters. This is especially true for children from 9 to 12 years old.
Bad company when teenagers get together and try to drink and smoke together. The problem affects children of different temperaments, the ringleaders will be the first to try and will persistently treat their friends, and it is difficult for shy and withdrawn children to say no.
The desire to appear more mature, to earn authority in one's environment.
If the house has developed conflict situation and the child feels lonely and misunderstood.
Young girls are often fascinated by the images of screen stars, in order to get closer to them, they begin to dress more frankly, use bright makeup start smoking.

What to do if a child starts smoking

Do you have a child who smokes? What to do? No need to yell or hit him, it usually gives reverse effect. In a conversation, it is better to use the arguments “I am very upset”, “I am worried” and not “you upset me”, the transition to personalities causes aggression and a desire to defend oneself. Open confrontation rarely gives desired result, you need to try to gently and imperceptibly switch the interests of the child, take him out of the undesirable company in which it is customary to smoke. The easiest way to find allies among athletes who adhere to a healthy lifestyle. good coach and friends in a section or a circle can become comrades for many years, and sport will help instill will and character.

Smoking and children: prevention of addictions

On a national scale, the number of children who smoke is simply appalling. It is necessary to strive to correct the situation by all means, replacing bad habits good. The desire to try something new is natural for the child's psyche, the task of adults is to direct energy and curiosity in a timely manner in the right direction. The best prevention teenage bad habits is my own example. Parents should try to lead sports and instill a love for it in children from a very young age. Many people forget about culture, it is another important component of our life. Joint visits to museums, theaters, watching and discussing good movies and reading books, and not occasionally, but regularly. All this will help not to lose points of contact and maintain your own authority in the eyes of the child, create a trusting, deep relationship.

Smoking - no! health - yes

In smokers, the skin becomes yellowish, the mouth and hair smell unpleasant. This bad habit takes a lot of money and free time, which can be used with more useful and pleasure. Everyone calculates the monetary value without difficulty, less often they think about time costs, and this is neither more nor less, from 10 to 15 days every year! In addition, due to the constant impact on nervous system, smoking people emotionally unstable, they fall asleep worse, sleep is quite disturbing and is regularly disturbed by bouts of coughing and numbness of the extremities. Barely awake, the smoker reaches for a cigarette to inhale such a coveted tobacco smoke again, especially if he is under the influence of alcohol. This often causes fires in which the culprit himself and members of his family die.

Of course, refusing bad habits, humanity will not get rid of all health problems at once, but they will become significantly less, this is a fact. healthy image life, the habit of eating right and exercising from early childhood can improve the health of the nation and prolong youth. Children one way or another repeat the path of their parents, being stricter with themselves and their actions, we help our children choose the right life path. Life can be great without smoking!

I don't want to offend anyone, but poor kids, it's just that somehow I'm not indifferent to such...

(C) Maternity hospital. Half past five in the morning. I rush to the shower in order to have time before my baby wakes up to put myself in order. A very young girl walks towards me with a characteristic postpartum gait. Just yesterday, her first child was born. I smile amiably at her, prepare to give advice on pumping, swaddling, stool frequency in newborns. But her question baffles me: “Is there no way to smoke?”.

Seeing the confusion on my face, the young mother declares: “And I smoked all my pregnancy, and nothing!”. NOTHING!

Yes, the baby was born safely and looks healthy. The arms and legs are in place, he eats and cries like other children. But the fact that the baby regularly suffered from oxygen deficiency, due to the fact that the mother’s blood was saturated carbon dioxide, sooner or later will rise to the surface and make itself felt. The fact that the baby's body experienced the toxic effects of nicotine throughout prenatal development, one way or another, will affect the development of the crumbs.

How to convince this young mother who is proud of her habit as a kind of feat, who sees in it a manifestation of her own significance and strength, which is fraught with this “nothing”. What words to explain to her, unintelligent, that her baby, who bravely endured all 9 months in the womb of a smoking mother, is now at risk of becoming passive smoker from diapers.

I remember my student practice in the pediatric intensive care unit. Three-year-old child with a seizure bronchial asthma. Whistling breath, blue lips and horror in the little eyes. When the attack was stopped, I was sent to break the news to my parents. I found them at the entrance to the hospital. Respectable, apparently well-to-do, Mom and Dad smoked nervously, waiting for news. I reassured them by telling them that everything was fine with the baby. "It's gone!" Mom exhaled and reached into her purse for another cigarette, not even suspecting that it was cigarettes that most likely caused her son's illness.

What could be more absurd and cynical than a parent who sacrifices his child to his own pleasure, habit, addiction?

However, 42% of children live in families where at least one of the parents smokes. The growing body is very sensitive to the components of tobacco smoke. How less age crumbs, the more severe the consequences passive smoking for the baby.

Turn on your imagination, parents, and imagine what happens in the body of your precious child when he inhales the blue smoke flowing from the tip of your cigarette. This smoke is much more dangerous than the one inhaled by the smoker, because it is not passed through the filter.

So, the smoke, sometimes almost imperceptible and transparent, penetrates the child's respiratory tract. The irritated mucous membrane of the lungs and bronchi reacts to it increased production mucus. The lumen of children's airways quickly becomes clogged with this mucus, causing agonizing cough, and with chronic exposure to smoke - bronchitis, bronchial asthma. How younger child, the faster and more severe the consequences of passive smoking will develop. In 60% of cases of sudden infant death, there is an association with parental smoking. The first attacks of bronchial asthma in children of smokers appear at the age of up to a year.

The child's upper respiratory tract is also involved in pathological processes under the influence of smoke. Cilia - tiny outgrowths of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, constantly moving, prevent dust, foreign particles and microorganisms from entering the lungs. In "stoned" children, these cilia stick together with an excess of viscous mucus and cease to fulfill their function. Add to this the suppression of immunity by toxic compounds from tobacco smoke, and the baby becomes completely unprotected against respiratory infections. Why do children from smoking families get sick? colds more often and the risk of developing complications of acute respiratory infections they have much more. All diseases transmitted by airborne droplets (meningitis, tuberculosis, etc.) pose a serious threat to children from smoking families.

Cigarette smoke contains many allergens that can trigger an asthma attack, cause development and exacerbation allergic dermatitis at babies.

Great amount carcinogenic tars in smoke may well lead your child to hospital bed oncology hospital.

Stoned children usually lag behind in physical and mental development from their peers. This is due to the toxic effects of passive smoking. Free radicals, which are apparently invisible in tobacco smoke trigger harmful oxidative processes in the body. To suppress this oxidative activity, antioxidants are required, the most common of which is vitamin C(vitamin C). The reserves of this vitamin are completely spent on the neutralization of activity. free radicals, therefore, babies suffer from hypovitaminosis, grow more slowly, get sick more often.

I hope the above facts will touch smoking mom and dads, make them think. Do not hope that again"will carry" and NOTHING will happen. You should not wait for the ambulance siren to howl in the yard. Don't bring yourself to sleepless nights at the doors of intensive care, behind which your treasure suffers. Show parental responsibility! Protect your baby from your own addiction!

Seven years ago, in 2010, the world was shocked by a video in which a 2-year-old boy from Indonesia smoked cigarettes. One by one, he simply did not let go of them, and according to his parents, he smoked 40 cigarettes a day, sometimes even more. Now the kid has grown up, but was he able to cope with his addiction?

The kid who became the hero of that scandalous video was called Ardi Rizal(Ardi Rizal). He lived in a small village on the island of Sumatra, and neither his family nor locals didn't find anything wrong with smoking. In the video, he was smoking, just like a steam locomotive, changing from one cigarette to another, and the locals just shrugged their shoulders and said that it was funny. The baby's mother assured that Ardie needed cigarettes, because as soon as he did not get them, he began to get angry, scream and even beat his head against the wall. " He feels bad, he gets dizzy if he doesn't smoke, "- Ardi's mother justified herself. The child's father was less verbose, he simply said that his son looked quite healthy for him.

As soon as Ardi's story became public and attracted worldwide attention, the Indonesian authorities enlisted social workers to help resolve the situation. “Of course, Ardi became a victim of his environment,” says a spokesman for a child rights organization in Indonesia. “In this society, they have been smoking for so long that they already consider it a normal habit that does no harm. The child needs to be distracted from his addiction, give him something in return."

The responsibility for Ardy's health should lie with his parents, but they didn't seem to see anything wrong with two year old smokes. When the mother brought her son to Jakarta for an examination at a rehabilitation center, it turned out that this decision was due not so much to concern for her son's health as to financial difficulties: it was very difficult for a simple family from the village to buy so many cigarettes a day.

In fact, Ardi's case is not an isolated case: Indonesia's smoking problem is national. About 80 million children in this country start smoking before they are 10 years old. Cigarette advertising has flooded almost all advertising surfaces, adults smoke almost constantly, not seeing this as a problem. In 2008, for example, in a country of 235 million people, more than 165 billion cigarettes were sold.

The case of Ardi raised a wave of indignation in the world, directed at the current situation in Indonesia. At some point, the government of the country gave in under pressure and organized a national campaign to end smoking among children.

As for Ardi himself, he was placed in rehabilitation center. Ordinary programs for adults were not suitable for the baby due to his age, he could not explain the consequences or treat him in a medical way. The doctors decided to divert the kid from his addiction by shifting his attention to something else that also brings him pleasure. And so Ardi moved from one addiction to another: he began to absorb an incredible amount of food, and most often it was unhealthy food containing huge doses of sugar. So, at the age of 6, Ardi earned himself obesity.

Ardi's parents did not stay away from their son's problems. They also received assistance - mostly educational. And when the mother realized that she could not help her son cope with a new addiction on her own, she went with him to a nutritionist who prescribed a strict diet for the boy.

It took the boy almost two years to completely get rid of the new addiction. By the age of 8, he stopped eating everything that was in his field of vision, he stopped smoking cigarettes, and finally began to look like a normal, healthy, cheerful boy.

Matt Myers, president of Indonesia's Child Tobacco Campaign, explains the situation: There are more smoking children in the country than anywhere else.If you go around the country, you will literally see tobacco advertisements at every turn.Smoking here is not just an infectious habit, it is a norm for society, which is supported by advertising at all levels.For the Western world now it is unthinkable, but here it is in the order of things.

Sourced from littlethings.com