Today, the Maldives became the first country in South Asia, and the only one in the world, to enforce a generational smoking ban.
Under the new law, anyone born on or after January 1, 2007, is prohibited from purchasing, using, or being sold tobacco products.
The Health Ministry said the measure aims to “protect public health and promote a tobacco-free generation.”
The law applies not only to citizens but also to visitors, with strict penalties for violations: fines up to 50,000 rufiyaa ($3200) for selling tobacco to underage individuals and 5,000 ($320) rufiyaa, for using vape devices.
The Maldives already maintains a comprehensive ban on e-cigarettes and vaping products, one of the most stringent policies along with India in the region.
In an era when New Zealand rolled back its own generational smoking ban, the Maldives’ decision stands out as a courageous public health experiment in the Global South.
It raises an important question for the rest of the region, Can South Asia imagine a tobacco-free generation too?
The deadly toll of tobacco in South Asia
Smoking remains a public health emergency across the subcontinent.
According to a World Bank data published in 2022, adult smoking prevalence is highest in Bangladesh, 32.9%, followed by Nepal, 28.3%, Maldives, 26.3%, India, 24.3%, Afghanistan, 22.7%, Sri Lanka, 19.5%, Pakistan, 18.9%, and Bhutan, 18.7%.
Behind these percentages lie millions of personal stories, fathers lost too soon, mothers battling chronic illness, and communities burdened by preventable disease.
According to the latest data of The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR), 1 million Indians die each year due to tobacco smoking, followed by 130 thousand each in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In Nepal, tobacco claims 28,110 lives each year, while 11,935 people die annually in Sri Lanka, and 9,151 in Afghanistan due to smoking-related diseases.
On the lower end of the spectrum, 329 people die each year in Bhutan and 203 in the Maldives. Bhutan’s robust anti-smoking laws and the Maldives’ small population largely explain these lower figures.
Each number represents a life cut short, a silent epidemic that transcends borders, language, and class.
These annual deaths are not just statistics, they are neighbors, relatives, and familiar faces lost to an avoidable cause.
South Asia’s patchwork of tobacco laws
Each South Asian nation has taken its own path in tobacco control, some progressive, others constrained by weak enforcement or economic dependence on tobacco products.
Bangladesh regulates smoking under the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005, amended in 2013.
The law bans smoking in public places, restricts advertisements, and mandates graphic warnings, but enforcement remains inconsistent.
A new Control Ordinance (2024) aims to strengthen these gaps, potentially banning e-cigarettes and aligning with WHO standards.
Yet, public smoking in Bangladesh remains widespread. Penalties exist only on paper, rarely enforced in practice. Roadside shops in the capital openly sell cigarettes to anyone, including schoolchildren in uniform.
India’s tobacco control framework, governed by the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, prohibits smoking in public places and advertising, and requires pictorial health warnings.
However, despite robust laws, implementation varies across states. India’s vast informal market and tobacco industry make enforcement challenging.
Pakistan operates under the Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance, 2002, which bans smoking in public places and advertising.
Yet, tobacco remains deeply embedded in the country’s culture, with weak compliance and limited taxation measures.
Afghanistan, under its Tobacco Control Law (2015), restricts smoking in public areas and bans advertising, though political instability and governance challenges have hindered implementation.
Sri Lanka’s National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act, No. 27 of 2006 established an independent authority overseeing tobacco and alcohol regulation.
It bans sales to anyone under 21, requires graphic warnings, and prohibits all forms of advertising. Sri Lanka’s policy framework is among the strongest in the region, though, like elsewhere, enforcement is uneven.
Nepal, through its Tobacco Product (Control and Regulation) Act, 2010, prohibits smoking in public places, bans advertising, and mandates pictorial health warnings covering 90% of packaging, the largest in South Asia.
Yet, illicit trade and the affordability of tobacco remain problems.
Together, these laws show progress, but also fragmentation.
None of these nations, until the Maldives, have dared to introduce a generational prohibition, one that challenges not just consumption but culture itself.
Bhutan – The pioneer
Before the Maldives, Bhutan stood as South Asia’s moral trailblazer in tobacco control.
The Tobacco Control Act of 2010 banned the cultivation, manufacture, and sale of tobacco within the country.
For years, it was one of the few nations in the world where tobacco sales were outright illegal.
However, by 2021, Bhutan partially reversed its ban, allowing limited sales to curb rampant smuggling and black-market activity.
The amendment reflected a difficult truth: total prohibition can be unsustainable without strong enforcement and public buy-in.
Still, Bhutan’s experience shows the power of ambition, and the importance of adaptability.
It serves as both a warning and an inspiration for the Maldives as it begins its own generational experiment.
The way forward
For South Asia, the first lesson from the Maldives’ bold move is the need to strengthen enforcement, not just legislation.
Most countries already have tobacco control laws on paper, but implementation remains weak.
Public smoking zones, advertising loopholes, and underage sales continue unchecked in many urban and rural areas.
A law’s success ultimately depends on how consistently it is enforced.
Moreover, governments must raise taxes and prices to make tobacco products less accessible.
Studies show that higher prices are among the most effective deterrents, especially for youth and low-income groups.
Tax revenue can be redirected into public health and awareness campaigns, creating a sustainable cycle of prevention.
Equally vital is to invest in awareness and cessation programs.
In many parts of South Asia, especially rural communities, smoking is seen as cultural rather than harmful.
Without accessible counseling, helplines, or nicotine replacement programs, addiction remains unchallenged. Education must start early, in schools, homes, and through mass media to reshape perceptions.
Finally, countries must prepare for the future by considering generational or incremental approaches.
Raising the legal age for purchase, as Sri Lanka has done with its 21+ rule, can serve as a stepping stone.
Introducing digital age verification for retailers and stricter penalties for non-compliance can gradually shift norms without triggering economic or social backlash.
The Maldives’ generational ban represents not just a health policy but a visionary social contract.
It recognizes that prevention must begin with the next generation, not through punishment, but through protection.
Whether this small island nation succeeds or struggles, it has already done what few others dared: Imagine a future where the next generation never starts smoking at all.
