Maldives becomes first country to ban smoking for those born after 2007

Maldives becomes first country to ban smoking for those born after 2007

The Maldives has banned young people born on or after 1 January 2007 from smoking tobacco, becoming the only country in the world to enforce a nationwide generational tobacco prohibition.

The move, initiated by President Mohamed Muizzu earlier this year -- which came into effect on November 1 -- will "protect public health and promote a tobacco-free generation", the Health Ministry said, AFP reported.

"Under the new provision, individuals born on or after January 1, 2007 are prohibited from purchasing, using, or being sold tobacco products within the Maldives. The ban applies to all forms of tobacco, and retailers are required to verify age prior to sale," it added.

This measure “makes the Maldives the first country in the world to enforce a nationwide generational tobacco ban,” it added.

The ministry said it also maintains a comprehensive ban on the import, sale, distribution, possession and use of electronic cigarettes and vaping products, applicable to all individuals regardless of age.

Smoking causes more than seven million deaths globally each year, according to the World Health Organization. As of 2021, more than a quarter of the Maldives’ adult population (aged 15 to 69) used tobacco, according to a national survey. That rate was almost double for young teens aged 13 to 15, CNN reported.

Though the Maldives is the first country to enact such a ban, similar proposals have been debated – and nearly imposed – in other parts of the world.

New Zealand came close to imposing something similar in 2022, when the government passed a world-leading smoking ban that would have prohibited the sale of tobacco to anyone born after January 1, 2009.