Social media users are furious after an 18-year-old young woman of Valencia, Spain, posted a picture on Instagram of a one-year-old baby smoking a cigarette with the caption: “Already smoking at a year old, love you little one, you’re my f****** life.”
According to Daily Mail , the young lady — who go by the username lapelirrojah_delbarriooh, which means neighborhood redhead — posted the shameful Instagram photo in January of a baby girl smoking, and it received 2,000 likes and over 36,000 comments – most of which expressed their disapproval and disbelief that she would even post such a photo.
Spanish woman post photo of 1-year-old smoking a cigarette >> http://t.co/SVfwJrYgvc pic.twitter.com/zHWUwBAEYB
— Latina Magazine (@Latina) May 13, 2015
The picture shows an adult hand holding a cigarette to the one-year-old’s mouth as she inhales, which the lit cigarette confirms the inhalation. Although it is uncertain if the one-year-old baby girl is the users’ daughter, it is believed that the child is, in fact, her daughter, as she has several other photos of the baby with the caption “my only.”
After thousands of Instagram users claimed the photo was an act of child abuse, the woman had taken the photo of the smoking baby down.
One user, soolootuuyaa wrote: “You disgust me as a mother and as a woman and as a person and hopefully the girl is taken away.”
While user elvis_black_fire added: “It incredible that so many people who are trying for a baby will give up smoking because is poison for a baby. This girl is growing and still has its weak lungs, for me this is like making her drink poison.”
“I think the police would definitely consider it to be child abuse, it is just absolutely unbelievable,” said pediatrician Antonio Nieto, who spoke with reporters at the Local .
“Tobacco is intrinsically even worse than heroin and to give it to a baby whose lungs are still developing is even worse.
Even children who are exposed to passive smoking are more likely to develop lung conditions such as asthma or chronic bronchitis.”
Although the picture had been taken down for quite some time, and she has apparently moved on from it, the public will not let her forget about the picture she posted of the smoking baby. Now, with every picture she posts on Instagram, she is faced with name calling and threats.
Instagram picture of baby smoking doesn’t go down well, surprisingly. http://t.co/t3k0cygkaR pic.twitter.com/9UMKjClNI0
— Metro (@MetroUK) May 12, 2015
Several Instagram users had even sent the photo of the smoking baby to the Spanish police in hopes that she will face criminal charges. However, there has been no word on whether or not she will be arrested.
[Image courtesy of Mario Tama/Getty Images ]