Gov’t Orders Seizure of Tobacco Production Items
The Ministry of Health has instructed the Maldives Customs Service to enforce the Tobacco Control Act by banning the production of tobacco products and seizing any items used in their manufacture.
The directive follows an amendment to the Tobacco Control Act passed in November last year, which prohibits the manufacture of tobacco products, including cigars, cigarettes, and vapes, within the country. It also bans the import of materials used in their production.
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A letter from the Health Ministry to Customs Commissioner General Fathimath Dhiyana, dated 24 December, has been circulating on social media. The letter outlines that Article 10 of the Act explicitly bans any form of tobacco product production in the Maldives.
In a related development, another letter from the Health Ministry has called for the rapid implementation of tobacco cessation services. The State Trading Organisation (STO) is reportedly working to distribute nicotine replacement therapy products, including nicotine gum, through pharmacies across the islands. To facilitate this, the ministry has requested Customs to allow duty-free import of a shipment of nicotine gum being procured by STO.
Under Article 42(f) of the Act, ‘tobacco products’ are defined as items made using tobacco leaves, stems, or nicotine, designed for consumption through smoking, chewing, inhalation, or application. However, products used for cessation or nicotine replacement therapies approved by technical authorities remain exempt from the ban.
An official from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) clarified to Mihaaru that the letter in question is a procedural directive for implementing existing laws, rather than a new regulation. The law also defines ‘production of tobacco’ as activities such as drying or processing tobacco leaves through various methods.
In addition to these measures, the government has increased duties on cigarettes by 50 per cent as part of its broader tobacco control strategy.
