To punish children, a school principal forces them to smoke cigarettes

In France, the sequence would most likely be considered child abuse. She is also controversial in Indonesia where she was shot. In this video, appeared on social networks a few days ago, there are eleven children aged 8, lined up in what appears to be an office, smoking cigarettes.

It is not a schoolboy stupidity, but a punishment orchestrated by the director of their school located in Sukabumi, west of the island of Java. The latter surprised the group of boys smoking in the playground and found nothing better to dissuade them to start over than to force them to smoke a whole package, this time under his responsibility.

Child protection seized

The scene, filmed by another teacher and broadcast on social networks, has caused excitement among parents and students. Questioned by a local media quoted by the tabloid The MirrorThe director of Tati Maelati school acknowledged the facts and even gave an explanation at a press conference. He wished, he says, that smoking cigarettes has a "chilling effect" and that children are aware of the harmful effects of tobacco.

Contacted by the parents, local child protection activists and local government officials condemned the director's gesture as being irresponsible on the moral and health grounds. Some parents told the local press that they intended to take their children out of Pamuruyan State Primary School, where the facts took place.

Tobacco, a plague in Indonesia

As the third largest consumer of tobacco, Indonesia is also the country with the highest prevalence of smoking among men in the world. According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), 67.4% of men aged 15 and over are smokers, as are 41% of young people aged 13 to 15 years. 19.8% of teenage smokers tried their first cigarette before the age of 10, while the others started at age 13.

Very inexpensive (about 1 euro per pack of cigarettes), purchasable individually, available in any newsstand, and without age restrictions, tobacco is wreaking havoc among the youngest. The country is also the only WHO member in South East Asia that has not ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

In 2010, the images of the little Ardi Rizal, 2 years old, had been around the world. We could see the toddler smoking cigarette after cigarette: almost 40 a day. Accro since the age of 18 months, he was taken care of by the child protection services, who helped him get rid of his addiction when he was 5 years old. He is doing well today.

This summer, those of Rapi Ananda Pamungkas who were smoking shocked. The 2-year-old boy has also become addicted to cigarettes and has been smoking 2 packs a day for a few months.