Most. Disturbing. China Moment. Ever.

I didn’t have my camera with me, otherwise I would have snapped a photo today.

I was standing at the local bus station here this afternoon, about to move onto my next destination, when I saw out of the corner of my eye, a little boy – not older than 2 years old age – playing with a cigarette in his mouth. The slender smoke was balanced with ease in between the little one’s lips. His father, standing next to him, was puffing away like a pro – he was already half finished his cigarette.

The pair looked like they were from the countryside. His father – in a black pleather jacket and grey slacks – and the boy – bundled up in a puffy winter jumper and pants, the ones with the slits down the buttocks for easy access when going to the bathroom.

“Oh my god,” I said to the bf. “That kid has a cigarette in his mouth. Well, at least it’s not lit.”

Seconds later, as if on cue, the child had a lighter in his hands and like a pro turned it on with one flick of his little thumb. The flame came on strong and steady, and he kept the cigarette in his mouth balanced perfectly over it. The cigarette lit up and the child, the 2-year-old CHILD, starting puffing away. He grinned, looking up at his father, who grinned back at him.

The boy took a few more puffs, smoke coming out of his little nose and nostrils, and then removed the cigarette ever so correctly from between his lips with two of his pudgy baby fingers. He continued doing this several times over until I finally I had to close my dropped jaw and walk out of there.

I was in shock. But angry, too. How could this child be allowed to handle cigarettes? The lighter? How could a father smile at his 2-year-old son who is smoking his way to a sure death? Obviously, the boy has been taught by his elders. My heart ached knowing that this child, who clearly enjoyed his cigarette, had already been condemned to a life of smoke stained teeth and hands, damaged, blackened lungs, and an early death.

I have seen a lot in China over the years, but this had to be one of the worst.

China has 360 million smokers – 31 percent among the general population - the highest number of cigarette consumers than any other country. (Read my story on female smokers in China) I couldn’t find any stats on young smokers, especially as young as the boy I saw today. But a quick google search revealed a handful of stories of similar sightings across China, including this one in the UK’s Daily Mail, where another 2-year-old was photographed in the northern city of Tianjin. Apparently, the child smokes a pack a day. This makes me sick. Worse, it will make the child much sicker.