Parents under scanner as toddler puffs away

The footage shows the chubby toddler laughing and responding to the adults around him as he takes long and frequent drags on a cigarette.

The boy, who reportedly lives in a village on Sumatra island and is called Ardi Rizal, is said to smoke at least 40 a day and became addicted after his father gave him a cigarette when he was aged just 18 months.

“He’s totally addicted. If he doesn’t get cigarettes, he gets angry and batters his head against the wall,” said his mother Daina. Rizal’s father Mohammed, a fishmonger, finds no problem with his habit and believes his son is quite healthy.

“We’ll investigate the parents,” said Heru Kasidi, from the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry.