/ 19 September 2005

‘Youngest smoker’ fails to impress record keepers

A chain-smoker from eastern China who started smoking at the age of three has failed in an attempt to win a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, a news report said on Monday.

The 37-year-old from Shanghai applied for a place in the record books as the world’s youngest smoker, according to the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily.

He reportedly claimed he began smoking a pipe at the age of three given to him by his grandparents who looked after him while his parents were working.

However, his application was rejected as unsuitable by the book, which now has a China-based adjudicator, because it would promote a harmful habit, the newspaper said. – Sapa