Cigarette-Smoking Toddler Reveals China’s Crisis with ‘Left-Behind’ Kids

January 24, 2018

A four-year-old boy in southeastern China smoking cigarettes like a pro has gone viral in social media.

The boy is a “left-behind” child living with his grandparents in the town of Wentian in Xinhua county, Hunan province, Sohu noted.

In a video shared by a neighbor online, the child can be seen smoking tobacco and chewing betel nut like he’s done it his whole life.

“[He] has been smoking for a year or two, can’t quit,” the neighbor said.

This means he has been smoking since he was two or three.

The boy’s grandmother is reportedly always busy with household chores, while his grandfather is hooked on mahjong.

Alone most of the time, he steals cigarettes from a shop and picks up butts on the ground left by other smokers.

Some criticized the boy’s guardians for their obvious lack of responsibility, but others sympathized with the plight of migrant workers and their families, as per Sina News.

The child’s situation eventually reached local authorities, who issued a “serious warning” to his grandparents.

Watch the video below:

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