Maldives Bans Smoking For Younger Generations

The Maldives has banned young group calved connected aliases aft 1 January 2007 from smoking tobacco, becoming nan only state successful nan world to enforce a nationwide generational baccy prohibition.

The archipelago's wellness ministry announced connected Saturday that it would beryllium forbidden for younger generations to use, bargain aliases waste baccy wrong nan country.

The prohibition "reflects nan government's beardown committedness to protecting young group from nan harms of tobacco", nan ministry said.

Ahmed Afaal, vice chair of nan archipelago's baccy power board, told BBC World Service's Newshour programme that nan country's wide vaping prohibition past twelvemonth had been a "good measurement towards a procreation of tobacco-free citizens".

The caller prohibition "applies to each forms of tobacco, and retailers are required to verify property anterior to sale", nan wellness ministry said, adding that it aligned pinch nan Maldives' obligations nether nan World Health Organization Framework Convention connected Tobacco Control.

According to nan UN's wellness body, this normal "provides a world consequence to a world problem – namely, nan baccy epidemic".

Mr Afaal said nan country's crackdown connected vaping had been an important first measurement because "these caller stylish gadgets are strategies of nan manufacture to attack nan younger generations to uptake addictive processes, which decidedly harms their health".

Last year, nan Maldives made it forbidden for anyone to import, sell, possess, usage aliases administer physics cigarettes and vaping products, sloppy of age.

Tourists coming to sojourn nan Maldives' islands will besides person to adhere to nan law, but Mr Afaal argues nan smoking prohibition will not person a detrimental effect connected tourism.

"People don't travel to nan Maldives because they're capable to smoke. They travel for nan beaches, they travel for nan sea, they travel for nan sun, and they travel for nan caller air," he added.

Quoting tourism data, Mr Afaal based on that contempt nan caller regulations location had been nary tourer cancellations and nan number of arrivals had grown successful nan past year.

"We're projecting much than 2m [tourists] successful nan adjacent year," he said.

Plans by New Zealand to walk a generational smoking prohibition were scrapped successful 2023 aft a caller authorities took power.

The move was seen arsenic a rustle to many wellness experts and Māori group successful particular, who person 1 of nan highest smoking rates.

Last year, nan UK's then-Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, had hoped to present a rule that would prohibition young group calved connected aliases aft 2009 from smoking.

A caller type of the legislation, introduced by nan existent government, has passed done nan Commons and is now astatine nan committee shape astatine nan House of Lords - nearing its past hurdles earlier it gets royal assent.