Maldives becomes first country to enforce generational tobacco ban
The Maldives is the first country in the world to implement a smoking ban based on a person's age.
Under the amendment, which took effect on Nov. 1, anyone born on or after January 1, 2007 is prohibited from purchasing, using, and selling tobacco products anywhere in the country.
According to the Maldives’ Ministry of Health, the move “reflects the government’s strong commitment to protecting young people from the harms of tobacco.”
The new policy builds on the country’s earlier measures to curb tobacco use. The Maldives already bans the import, sale, distribution, possession, and use of e-cigarettes and vaping products across all ages.
The government has also expanded tobacco-free zones, increased taxes on tobacco, raised the legal purchasing age to 21, and prohibited smoking advertising and sponsorships.
In June 2025, the country's president Dr. Mohamed Muizzu expressed support for anti-smoking efforts by proposing financial incentives for islands that eliminate tobacco use.
In October, the World Health Organization reported that the number of tobacco users had dropped from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024 globally.
"Millions of people are stopping, or not taking up tobacco use thanks to tobacco control efforts by countries around the world," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
According to the WHO, the tobacco epidemic remains one of the "biggest public health threats" in the world, causing over 7 million deaths annually.
A similar ban based on a person's generation has been proposed in the UK. Meanwhile, New Zealand passed a law banning smoking for those born on or after January 1, 2009 but later scrapped it.
