Maldives: smoking banned for future generations

Since 1 November 2025, the Maldives have been applying an unprecedented measure: anyone born after 1 January 2007 may no longer legally smoke or buy tobacco. This new law, the first of its kind in the world, applies to everyone, tourists included. The government explains that this “generational ban” is intended to “protect public health and promote a tobacco-free generation”.

What the measure says

The law amends the tobacco regulations (law no. 15/2010) to set an “infinite” age of access to tobacco. In practice, anyone born on or after 1 January 2007 is barred from buying, possessing or consuming any tobacco product. That includes cigarettes, chewing tobacco and all other tobacco products. Retailers must systematically check customers’ age: selling tobacco to someone born after 2006 is punishable by a fine (50,000 rufiyaa, around 3,200 dollars).

The measure covers every form of tobacco and extends to vaping products as well: importing, selling, distributing, possessing and using electronic cigarettes and vapes is strictly prohibited for everyone, whatever their age. The Maldives already had a general ban on e-cigarettes and vapes before this reform.

The generational ban applies to everyone on Maldivian territory, including foreign visitors. In other words, any tourist born in 2007 or later may neither buy nor consume tobacco during their stay. The rule applies in all towns, on resort islands and in hotel complexes, and even in airport duty-free shops.

The stated objectives

The Maldivian authorities present the law as a public health and prevention measure. Officially, the ban is intended to protect young people from the harms of tobacco and to create a “tobacco-free generation”. It falls within the international commitments of the Maldives (the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control) and reflects president Mohamed Muizzu’s wish to make the archipelago an example in tobacco control.

The international context

The Maldives are the first country to implement such a general ban, but other nations had considered similar measures. New Zealand, for example, passed a law in 2022 aimed at progressively banning tobacco sales to future generations (those born after 2009); that law was eventually repealed at the end of 2023 by the new parliamentary majority. In the United Kingdom, a tobacco and vapes bill proposes to raise the legal age of sale for tobacco progressively (in effect banning tobacco for future generations). These examples show that the idea of a “tobacco-free generation” is debated around the world, but that until now it had never resulted in a ban as strict as the Maldivian one.

What it means for travellers

For tourists, the new rules mean that travellers under 18 may no longer smoke during their stay in the Maldives. The authorities intend to focus checks on points of sale: every seller (shops, bars, resorts) must verify the buyer’s age. An under-age tourist caught trying to buy tobacco will be refused the sale, and retailers who sell illegally face very heavy fines.

In practice, adult travellers (born before 2007) may still buy and smoke tobacco, but they must comply with local law. Cigarettes are already banned in many public places (restaurants, transport and so on), and only a few clearly marked smoking areas exist on some islands and in some hotel complexes. No traveller is allowed to use an electronic cigarette on the islands: the authorities systematically confiscate vaping devices on arrival, and possession carries a fine (up to 5,000 rufiyaa, around 320 dollars).

In short, the law makes the Maldives a de facto smoke-free destination for young visitors. Travellers concerned should read up and prepare their trip accordingly: a minor travelling with their family will have to leave their cigarettes and electronic cigarettes at home, while all adult smokers will have to observe the new local restrictions.

Sources: Maldives Ministry of Health, health.gov.mv, international press (AFP/The Guardian)