MALE, Maldives – The Maldives, the famed Indian Ocean archipelago, has made a landmark move in global public health by implementing the world's first nationwide 'Smoke-Free Generation' law. Effective November 1, 2025, the new legislation permanently prohibits anyone born on or after January 1, 2007, from legally purchasing, using, or being sold any tobacco products within the country's territory.

This bold measure, championed by President Mohamed Muizzu earlier this year, seeks to safeguard public health and cultivate a generation entirely free from tobacco dependence. The law's scope is comprehensive, applying not only to Maldivian citizens but also to all residents and the millions of international tourists who visit the luxury resort destination annually.

The generational ban is a fundamental shift in tobacco control policy. Unlike traditional laws that set a fixed legal age for tobacco purchase, this legislation creates a permanent, age-based cutoff. An individual born on December 31, 2006, retains the right to purchase tobacco upon reaching the legal age, but a person born just one day later will never gain that right.

The Health Ministry has confirmed that the prohibition covers all forms of tobacco—including cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless products. Furthermore, the Maldives maintains one of the world's most stringent policies on electronic cigarettes and vaping devices, which are already subject to a comprehensive ban on import, sale, distribution, possession, and use for all individuals, regardless of age.

Retailers across the 1,191 coral islets are now mandated to implement strict age verification checks before completing any tobacco sale. The penalties for non-compliance are severe. Selling tobacco products to a prohibited individual can result in a fine of up to 50,000 Maldivian Rufiyaa (approximately $3,200 USD). Using a vaping device, which is banned for everyone, carries a penalty of around 5,000 Rufiyaa (approximately $320 USD).

The implementation of the ban solidifies the Maldives' commitment to its obligations under the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).

While the Maldives is the first nation to fully enforce such a law, other countries have explored similar avenues. New Zealand was the first to enact a generational ban for those born after 2009, but the law was controversially repealed in November 2023 by the newly elected conservative government, which cited the need for tax revenue. In the United Kingdom, a similar bill proposing a ban for those born on or after January 1, 2009, is currently under parliamentary discussion.

The Maldivian initiative now stands as a global test case for this innovative public health strategy, aiming to eliminate the societal and economic burden of smoking-related diseases for all future generations.