Maldives: Towards a generational tobacco ban for people born after 2006

The Council of Ministers decided on Sunday, April 13, 2025, to implement a generational ban on tobacco for people born on or after January 1, 2007.[1]Under this provision, the sale of tobacco products will continue to be prohibited to people from generations born since 2007 even after they reach the age of majority. The cabinet decided to give law enforcement authorities six months to review existing texts following the adoption of the amended legislation. The ban will take effect on November 1, 2025, the Office of President Mohamed Muizzu said.

A strong public policy decision in favor of a “tobacco-free generation”

In a video message released on social media ahead of the meeting, the president's office highlighted the impact of smoking, which it considers the leading cause of non-communicable diseases and disability in the country.[2]The rising rates of cancer and heart disease among young people require strong measures, he said.

According to the 2021 Non-Communicable Disease Survey, 21.8% of people aged 15-29 smoke tobacco in the Maldives. In a country as sparsely populated as ours, we must take this issue very seriously. ", said President Muizzu, specifying that " To date, 30.1% of the population, or 411,741 people born since January 1, 2007, are part of the group potentially affected by the ban. »

The cabinet also instructed the Ministry of Finance and Planning to collaborate with the Ministry of Health to facilitate access to smoking cessation services.

Public opinion, as elsewhere in the world, supports this decision.

Before making this decision, the president conducted a public opinion survey among the general population on the acceptability of the measure to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after a certain date. Several options were proposed: people born on or after 2000, 2004, or 2007. The majority of respondents to the survey were in favor of applying the measure to people born on or after the year 2000, but the cabinet chose 2007.

In November 2024, the Maldives had already raised the legal age for tobacco consumption from 18 to 21 years.[3] and, from December 15, 2024, have prohibited on their territory the manufacture, sale, distribution, promotion and possession of electronic cigarettes[4]This latest measure taken by the public authorities comes after a significant number of initiatives by public health, sports and parent associations who had asked the government to act quickly on these devices, which are increasingly used by adolescents (17.1 % of boys and 10.7 % of girls aged 13 to 15).

Banning the generational sale of tobacco products is a measure under discussion in a growing number of countries. Similar law proposed in Britain is still in the legislative process[5], while in the United States, some states like Massachusetts and Hawaii have proposed such a measure for tobacco products and Indiana even considers this generational ban for tobacco products and other non-therapeutic nicotine products.

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[1]Mohamed Mariyath, Generational tobacco ban to be implemented for those born 2007 onwards, The Edition, published April 14, 2025, accessed April 14, 2025

[2]Shahid Malika, Cabinet to decide today on Generational Ban on Tobacco, The Edition, published April 13, 2025, accessed April 14, 2025

[3]AFP, Maldives to ban tobacco sales to under-19s, France 24, published April 14, 2025, consulted April 14, 2025

[4]Tobacco-free generation, Maldives bans vaping products, published October 18, 2024, accessed April 14, 2025

[5]AFP, Maldives to phase out smoking with generational ban, Inquirer.net, published April 14, 2025, accessed April 14, 2025

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