Smoking in the Maldives has been traditionally seen as a social activity and part of the Maldivian Culture. [1]
During the presidency of Mohamed Amin Didi, he made an unpopular ban on tobacco smoking, which was not favoured by many Maldivians at the time. [2] Later on, the ban was lifted. [2]
Maldives became a party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on 27 February 2005.
According to the Tobacco Control Act (Law 15/2010), smoking is prohibited in most workplaces, public transport, public places, although it permits smoking in designating areas in non-air-conditioned teashops, restaurants, cafés and other food and beverage outlets. [3]
In recent years, the popularity of smoking and vaping had increased in social settings. [1] Vaping had also been introduced to the youth, who were rapidly picking up smoking and vaping. [1]
In 2024, president Mohamed Muizzu signed an amendment to the Tobacco Control Act which banned the import of vapes in the Maldives. [4] The use, distribution and sale of vapes, and related devices will be banned in Maldives effective 15 December. [5] This new amendment changed the minimum legal age from 18 to 21. [6] It'll also impose fines starting up to MVR 50,000 to businesses or individuals importing vapes and MVR 10,000 for each item, sales of a vape will be MVR 20,000, distributing to minors will be MVR 50,000, and using them will be MVR 5,000. [6] The Maldivian government has also increased duties on tobacco products, leading to prices being more expensive. [6]
About 32.3% of adult Maldivians reported being current tobacco users in 2020. [7]
The Maldivian rufiyaa is the currency of the Maldives. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). The most commonly used symbols for the rufiyaa are MVR and Rf. The ISO 4217 code for Maldivian rufiyaa is MVR. The rufiyaa is subdivided into 100 laari.
The Constitution of the Maldives is the supreme law of the country of Maldives. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Republic of Maldives, sets out the rights and duties of the citizens of the Maldives, and defines the structure of the Government of the Maldives. The current Constitution of the Maldives was ratified by the then president, Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, on 7 August 2008, and came into effect immediately, replacing and repealing the Constitution of 1998.
The president of the Republic of Maldives is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Maldives and the commander-in-chief of the Maldives National Defence Force.
A smoking ban in England, making it illegal to smoke in all enclosed workplaces in England, came into force on 1 July 2007 as a consequence of the Health Act 2006. Similar bans had already been introduced by the rest of the United Kingdom: in Scotland on 26 March 2006, Wales on 2 April 2007 and Northern Ireland on 30 April 2007. Plain tobacco packaging and a smoking ban in cars with passengers under 18 were introduced under Children and Families Act 2014.
The Tobacco Products Control Act was introduced in South Africa in 1993, where smoking has been rated the second highest health concern, after HIV/AIDS.
The use of tobacco for smoking in New Zealand has been subjected to government regulation for a number of decades. On 10 December 2004, New Zealand became the third country in the world to make all indoor workplaces including bars and restaurants smoke-free. The smoking rate in New Zealand was about 8% as of 2023 when the new government planned to eliminate the nation's smoking ban to fund tax cuts.
Tobacco has a long cultural, economic, and social impact on the United States. Tobacco cultivation in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1610 led to the expansion of British colonialism in the Southern United States. As the demand for Tobacco grew in Europe, further colonization in British America and Tobacco production saw a parallel increase. Tobacco use became normalized in American society and was heavily consumed before and after American independence.
Irreligion in the Maldives is a social taboo, and irreligious people are systematically socially and legally discriminated against.
SmokinginCanada is banned in indoor public spaces, public transit facilities and workplaces, by all territories and provinces, and by the federal government. As of 2010, legislation banning smoking within each of these jurisdictions is mostly consistent, despite the separate development of legislation by each jurisdiction. Notable variations between the jurisdictions include: whether, and in what circumstances ventilated smoking rooms are permitted; whether, and up to what distance away from a building is smoking banned outside of a building; and, whether smoking is banned in private vehicles occupied by children.
Smoking in the United Kingdom involves the consumption of combustible cigarettes and other forms of tobacco in the United Kingdom, as well as the history of the tobacco industry, together with government regulation and medical issues.
Smoking in India is one of the oldest industries and provides employment to more than five million people directly and indirectly. India is the second-largest producer of tobacco in the world. Smoking has been known since at least 2000 BC when cannabis was smoked and is first mentioned in the Atharvaveda. Fumigation (dhupa) and fire offerings (homa) are prescribed in the Ayurveda for medical purposes and have been practiced for at least 3,000 years while smoking, dhumrapana has been practiced for at least 2,000 years. Tobacco was introduced to India in the 17th century. It later merged with existing practices of smoking.
Human rights in the Maldives, an archipelagic nation of 417,000 people off the coast of the Indian Subcontinent, is a contentious issue. In its 2011 Freedom in the World report, Freedom House declared the Maldives "Partly Free", claiming a reform process which had made headway in 2009 and 2010 had stalled. The United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor claims in their 2012 report on human rights practices in the country that the most significant problems are corruption, lack of religious freedom, and abuse and unequal treatment of women.
Tobacco smoking in the Philippines affects a sizable minority of the population. According to the 2015 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) conducted under the auspices of the Philippines' Department of Health, Philippine Statistics Authority, the World Health Organization, and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23.8 percent of the adult population were "current tobacco smokers". This figures represented 16.6 million of 69 million adult Filipinos.
Regulation of electronic cigarettes varies across countries and states, ranging from no regulation to banning them entirely. As of 2015, around two thirds of major nations have regulated e-cigarettes in some way. A 2023 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that 34 countries had banned the sale of e-cigarettes.
The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) is a fully autonomous body responsible for tax administration in the Maldives. The main responsibilities of MIRA include execution of tax laws, implementation of tax policies and providing technical advice to the government in determining tax policies. The Tax Administration Act stipulates the other responsibilities of MIRA.
A vape shop is a retail outlet specializing in the selling of vaping products, though shops selling derived psychoactive cannabis products have increased in the United States since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. There are also online vape shops. A vape shop offers a range of vaping products. The majority of vape shops do not sell vaping products that are from "Big Tobacco" companies. In 2013, online search engine searches on vape shops surpassed searches on e-cigarettes. Around a third of all sales of vaping products in one US state took place in vape shops. Big Tobacco believes the independent vape market is a threat to their interests.
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Act 2022 now repealed, was an act of the New Zealand Parliament that sought to combat smoking by limiting the number of retailers allowed to sell smoked tobacco products; banning the sale of smoked tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009; and discouraging the consumption of smoked tobacco products. The bill passed its third reading on 13 December 2022 and received royal assent on 16 December 2022. The new National-led coalition government announced in late November 2023 that they intended to repeal the legislation. The Smokefree legislation was repealed under urgency on 28 February 2024.
The Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 11900, is a law in the Philippines which aims to regulate the "importation, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products and novel tobacco products", such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. It lapsed into law on July 25, 2022. As a proposed measure, the law was known as the Vape Regulation Bill.
The Tobacco Control Act of the Maldives was enacted by the People's Majlis and signed into law by president Mohamed Nasheed on 18 August 2010. The act controls the use of tobacco including prohibition of growing and advertising tobacco and tobacco products, how such products could be imported and exported, how they can be wholesaled and retailed.