Warning issued to citizens and tourists as nation becomes world's first to enforce ban on smoking cigarettes
While smoking has generally become a less popular activity for younger generations, one nation has taken a hard stance by being the first country in the world to implement a generational ban on cigarette use.
You'd have to be living under a rock to be unaware of the effects that smoking cigarettes has on your body, as they are both alarming in the short term and frightening when it comes to the long term damage to your internal organs.
Some scientists have even been able to estimate how much each cigarette you smoke takes off your life, and it's led many to quit the habit over the years either cold turkey or through alternative methods which might also not be as 'healthy' as you think.
Many governments across the world have implemented certain rules to deincentivize individuals from smoking, from indoor bans to advertising the health effects on the packets themselves, but one country has gone the extra mile in what has become a global first.
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As reported by the Daily Mail, the Maldives has become the first country to implement a 'generational ban' on smoking cigarettes, meaning that from the start of this month anyone born after January 1, 2007 will never be allowed to purchase or use tobacco cigarettes.
It's understandably going to be challenging for any government to ban smoking outright, as there are health risks that might arise as a result of forcing everyone to go cold turkey, yet the proposition of a generational ban aims to eradicate smoking as a habit in the long term.
The Maldives Health Ministry has asserted that this measure shows the country's "strong commitment to protecting young people from the harms of tobacco," and that the ban "applies to all forms of tobacco, and retailers are required to verify age prior to sale."
It's estimated that around 25 percent of all adults in the Maldives currently smoke, with a large proportion of that being men, with nearly half of all 13 to 15 year olds using some form of tobacco, which the new ban aims to eliminate completely.
What could be alarming for some is that the ban also applies to any tourists and travelers visiting the country, so any future visitors won't be able to purchase or smoke cigarettes if they're under the age limit, regardless of whether they can in their home country.
The Maldives isn't the only nation to have floated these ideas, as the UK government has previously considered implementing similar generational bans, but it is the first country to actually go through with the implementation, and it could have a significant impact on the health of its citizens in the long term future.