The world-first ban prohibits anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007, from ever buying, using or smoking tobacco.
The Maldives has become the first country in the world to impose a generational smoking ban, barring anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007, from ever smoking, purchasing or using tobacco.
“The ban applies to all forms of tobacco, and retailers are required to verify age prior to sale,” the health ministry said Saturday as the ban came into effect.
The step “makes the Maldives the first country in the world to enforce a nationwide generational tobacco ban,” it added.
There are quite a few Asian & Middle Eastern countries that have similar bans. A few Muslim countries have prohibition laws saying Muslims can’t buy alcohol, but it’s still legal for Christians, etc.
It’s certainly not common, but less of a new idea than you might think. My knowledge runs out there, though - I genuinely don’t know how well/poorly those kinds of laws perform even in those areas.