Key Highlights
- Permanent ban effective Nov 1, 2025, covering anyone born on or after Jan 1, 2007.
- President Muizzu spearheaded the measure to promote a “tobacco-free generation.”
- Applies to all tobacco forms and to foreign visitors.
- Nationwide ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco remains in effect.
- UK advancing similar legislation; New Zealand repealed its version in 2023.
2Firsts, November 2, 2025 —The Maldives has officially enacted a generational tobacco ban, becoming the world’s only nation to permanently prohibit a generation from smoking.
The measure, introduced by President Mohamed Muizzu, took effect on November 1 and aims to “protect public health and promote a tobacco-free generation.”
Anyone born on or after January 1, 2007, is prohibited from purchasing, using, or being sold any tobacco products. The ban applies to all tobacco forms and visitors across the Maldives’ 1,191 islands.
Retailers are required to verify age before sale, and strict penalties apply for violations. Selling tobacco to minors carries a fine of 50,000 rufiyaa (US$3,200), while vaping offences incur fines of 5,000 rufiyaa (US$320).
The country also maintains a nationwide ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, prohibiting import, sale, possession, and use for all individuals.
According to the Health Ministry, the initiative is part of a broader effort to reduce smoking-related disease and early deaths. The UK is pursuing a similar generational ban, while New Zealand, the first country to implement one, repealed it in 2023.
Source: The Guardian
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