A new video of a smoking Indonesian toddler has emerged, shocking health experts.

The parents of a two-year-old boy seen smoking in a clip posted on The Sun newspaper's website, will be investigated, say Indonesian officials.

His father reportedly gave him his first cigarette when he was 18 months old and now he smokes 40 a day.His mother says he beats his head against the wall unless he gets nicotine but his father insists he is healthy.

Child Protection Ministry official Heru Kasidi said the family would be investigated for what would be considered a clear case of child abuse in many countries.

It's the second time this year Indonesia has been embarrassed by such media coverage.

Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia not to have signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Its weak regulations have enabled tobacco companies to target young Indonesians.

Various studies have shown that poor families spend more on cigarettes than on books and education.

Anti-smoking activists and health experts say Indonesia is a paradise for the tobacco industry, which has been aggressively expanding sales in the country of about 240 million people.

'The regulations on the tobacco industry in Indonesia are weak. They protect the shareholders in the industry more than the people,' activist Kartono Mohamad said.

Almost 70 percent of men over 20 years of age smoke, and regular smoking among boys aged 15 to 19 increased from 36.8 per cent in 1997 to 42.6 per cent in 2000.

The local tobacco industry generates more than six billion dollars a year for the government.

The government has increased excise taxes but prices remain extremely low by international standards, with a pack of 20 costing little more than a dollar.