On Saturday, 1 November 2025, the Maldives’ health ministry announced that, henceforward, using, buying, or selling tobacco would be illegal for anyone born after January 2007. The archipelago becomes the first nation in the world to introduce a generational tobacco prohibition.
According to the World Health Organization, smoking is responsible for some 7 million deaths globally every year. When looking at the Maldives’ adult population (aged 15 to 69), some 25% used tobacco in 2021, while reaching 50% among young teens aged 13 to 15.
National Torch Run 2025 comes to an end!
— Ministry of Health (@MoHmv) November 1, 2025
From ministries to athletes, NGOs to corporates, communities and stakeholders, we thank all partners for their unwavering support and their commitment to a #TobaccoFreeMaldives 🇲🇻#TorchRun2025#GenerationalBan pic.twitter.com/0fbdauHK7l
In 2024, the Maldives already made the headlines by prohibiting electronic cigarettes in all their forms. The importation, sale, possession, use, and distribution of e-cigarettes and vaping products have since banned in the country for people of all ages. Those who choose to ignore the ban and choose to use vaping devices anyway are subject to a fine of 5,000 rufiyaa (€281).
Generational ban
As of 1 November 2025, as part of their obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the Maldives has decided to prohibit the use of all tobacco products to those born after January 2007 on its 1,191 islets known for their luxury tourism.
Retailers will be obliged to check a customer’s age prior to any sales, and the ban will also apply to tourists. Selling tobacco products to underage customers entails a penalty of 50,000 rufiyaa (€2,817).
As we reach the final hour of the National Torch Run, communities, schools, youth, and local councils walk side by side carrying the message of hope, unity, and a tobacco-free generation across the nation.#TobaccoFreeMaldives#GenerationBan#TorchRun2025 pic.twitter.com/4SfA5PnX7y
— Ministry of Health (@MoHmv) November 1, 2025
“People don’t come to the Maldives because they’re able to smoke. They come for the beaches, they come for the sea, they come for the sun, and they come for the fresh air”, Ahmed Afaal, vice chair of the archipelago’s tobacco control board, told BBC World Service’s Newshour programme, specifying the vaping ban had not had any consequences on the archipelago’s tourist numbers over the past year.
As of 1 November 2025, the Maldives has become the first country in the world to introduce a nationwide generational tobacco prohibition. However, other projects were submitted over the last couple of years. In 2022, New Zealand’s government decided to introduce a smoking ban for anyone born after 1 January 2009 as of 2024, but the bill was later cancelled.
In the United Kingdom, a bill banning tobacco for anyone born after 1 January 2009 is currently making its way through parliament after several similar projects did not succeed. According to the European Union’s “Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and related products” report, one quarter of the EU’s population is a regular user of some sort of tobacco product. The European Commission has therefore recently laid out a recommendation for toughening the bloc’s stance on where people can smoke.
