A five-year-old Chinese boy is thought to be the world’s youngest smoker.
Tong Liangliang was taught how to light up by his father, who believed the habit would alleviate pain caused by a hernia.
The toddler now smokes a pack of cigarettes a day and throws a tantrum if he can’t get his fix.
‘The father wasn’t aware of how serious the toddler’s habit became until the child began to increase the number of cigarettes he smoked per day’, China Radio International reported.
Tong received his first cigarette at the age of 18 months in a bid to reduce the discomfort caused by his hernia. The boy’s tender age meant he was too young to have an operation.
In 2005 a 37-year-old man submitted an application to the Guinness Book of Records, claiming to have smoked since the age of three.
The man was bidding for an accolade as the world’s youngest smoker, but his application was denied on the grounds that it promoted a harmful habit.