Investigator(s)
| WHO Technical Officer |
Fathimath Hudha WHO Maldives Fathimath Hudha 
|
| Principal Investigator |
Asiya Ibrahim Maldives National University Asiya Ibrahim
|
Title(s) and abstract
| Scientific title | A Baseline Study on the Initial Implementation of the Generational Tobacco Ban in the Maldives |
| Public title | A Baseline Study on the Initial Implementation of the Generational Tobacco Ban in the Maldives |
| Background | The Maldives has become the first country to implement a nationwide generational tobacco ban, effective November 1, 2025. Under President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's leadership, this initiative amends the Tobacco Control Act (Act No. 15/2010) to protect public health and create a tobacco-free generation. The legislation prohibits anyone born on or after January 1, 2007, from purchasing or using tobacco products. It also enforces a complete ban on e-cigarettes and vaping products—covering import, sale, possession, and use—for all ages. Retailers must verify customer ages before selling tobacco, and the ban applies to tourists as well. Penalties are substantial: selling tobacco to minors carries a fine of MVR 50,000, while vape use incurs a MVR 5,000 fine. By contrast, the UK is still considering similar generational bans, and New Zealand repealed its own law less than a year after introduction. |
| Objectives | 1. To explore key stakeholders’ understanding of the Maldives’ generational tobacco ban, including perspectives from government, health professionals, enforcement bodies, NGOs, business, and the tourism sector. 2. To examine the relationships between different age cohorts in the community with their perceived attitudes, acceptance, compliance, benefits, and impacts of the Generational Tobacco Ban. 3. To examine the differences between perceived attitudes, acceptance, compliance, benefits, and impacts of the Generational Tobacco Ban among stakeholder categories. 4. To explore the perceived benefits of tobacco control measures introduced under the generational ban among key stakeholders, including government, health professionals, enforcement bodies, NGOs, the business and tourism sector, at the initial stage of implementation. 5. To explore the perceived challenges of tobacco control measures introduced under the generational ban among key stakeholders, including government, health professionals, enforcement bodies, NGOs, the business and tourism sector. 6. To identify ways to improve communication, implementation, and coordination of the Generational Tobacco Ban across sectors. |
| Study Methods | This study adopts a sequential mixed-methods research design to obtain a comprehensive understanding of how the Maldives’ generational tobacco ban is perceived, interpreted, and implemented across different stakeholder groups. The sequence will be managed as two phases of data collection and analysis, whereby phase 1 focuses on qualitative data collection and phase 2 is on quantitative data collection. |
| Expected outcomes and use of results | Introducing a generational tobacco ban in the Maldives has the potential to deliver substantial long-term health, social, and economic benefits, making it a highly significant area of study. By preventing tobacco initiation among future generations, such a policy could markedly reduce tobacco-related diseases, premature mortality, and exposure to second-hand smoke (Ministry of Health, 2022), thereby easing pressure on the national health system. Socially, a generational ban would help break intergenerational cycles of nicotine addiction, shift social norms toward tobacco-free living, and reduce health inequalities, particularly among vulnerable groups. Economically, the policy could lower healthcare costs, improve workforce productivity, and increase household financial security (Buffano et al., 2022). Examining the stakeholder understanding, perceptions, and implementation experiences of the Maldives’ Generational Tobacco Ban, and assessing the perceived benefits and challenges at the initial stage of implementation, is crucial to informing evidence-based policymaking and supporting sustainable public health and development outcomes in the Maldives. |
| Keywords | tobacco, generational ban |
Research Details
| Student research | No |
| Start Date | 01-Jul-2026 |
| End Date | 01-Nov-2027 |
| Key Implementing Institution | Maldives National University |
| Multi-country research | No |
| Nationwide research | Yes, with randomly selected geographical areas |
| Maldives, Maldives, Maldives, Maldives, Maldives, Maldives | |
| Research Domain(s) | Non-communicable diseases & Healthy Lifestyles |
| Research field(s) | |
| Involves human subjects | Yes |
| Qualitative Study | |
| Data Collection | Primary data |
| Proposal reviewed by other Committee | Final decision available |