Boy, 8, smokes 25 cigarettes a day

An eight-year-boy has made headlines in Indonesia due to his heavy smoking habit.

Ilham is to undergo a month of therapy to kick his 25-a-day habit, said a child welfare official.

Indonesia's Child Protection Commission chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait said Ilham needed "emergency help" as his addiction had reached "alert level".

"You can see a dramatic change of behaviour when he doesn't have a cigarette for a while. He becomes emotionally aggressive and uncontrollable. He acts like he's possessed by evil spirits," said Sirait.

The boy's father Agan Umar said his son would become enraged and "smash glass windows or whatever's around" if he is not constantly given cigarettes.

"I hope the therapy works so my son can go back to school and live a normal life like the other kids," Umar said.

The boy will leave his village in Sukabumi in western Java on Monday to start receiving intensive specialist care in the capital Jakarta.

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