10 June 2010
Beijing, China
Ya Wen lives in a shelter with her parents who collect and sell garbage in Huizhou in southern China’s Fujian province.
Her mother, Gao, said Ya Wen is now addicted to cigarettes and will also down glasses of beer whenever she gets the chance. Gao said her daughter’s personality changed when she was knocked down by a speeding van last year.
"The first time I found her smoking was in the toilet," said Gao. "Before that, I often saw cigarette butts in the toilet but thought they were my husband’s until I saw my daughter smoking there."
The family tried to stop her but she kept stealing cigarettes from her father, or buying them on credit from a neighbouring store. Ya Wen’s father has now stopped smoking to set an example for his daughter. Agencies
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