Ardi Rizal has now focused his attention on excelling in school, as well as continuing on with his healthy lifestyle.
When Ardi Rizal was 2 years old, he turned heads worldwide after footage of him chain-smoking cigarettes surfaced. Now, 9, the boy has kicked the habit and is living a healthy lifestyle.
Read: Cops: Former Bus Driver Steals City Bus After Driver Tells Her to Stop Smoking
Rizal, who lives in a remote Sumatran village in Indonesia, also became addicted to junk food after his parents weaned him off cigarettes amid an international outcry over his smoking habit.
It was reported that when Rizal was 2 years old, he was smoking at least 40 cigarettes a day. By age 5, he developed a junk food habit in place of his smoking addiction.
At the time, he weighed 52 pounds, 13 pounds more than the average weight of a child that age.
Rizal's story led the Indonesian government to kick off a nationwide campaign to end child smoking and introduce tighter restrictions on the tobacco industry.
The boy faced an uphill battle with his addictions, but was able to beat them with the help of the government and a nutritionist. Rizal is now sticking to a strict diet that consists of fresh fish, fruit and vegetables.
Read: Cop Makes Teen Suspected of Smoking Pot Do 200 Push-Ups, Lets Him Off With a Warning
“At first when we were weaning Ardi off the cigarettes he would have terrible tantrums. But he doesn’t want them now,” his mother, Diane, told the Daily Mail in 2013.
Rizal has now focused his attention on his studies, excelling in school as he continues with his healthy lifestyle.
Watch: Dying Man's Last Request of a Cigarette and Glass of Wine Granted by Hospital
