27 individuals fined by MVR 123,000 for using vape during Ramadan

Maldives Police Service states 27 people were fined during Ramadan for using vape, which has been banned in the Maldives.

Amendments to the Tobacco Control Act prohibited the import of vaping devices starting from November 15, followed by a ban on their sale, free distribution, and use starting from December 15.

Subsequently, Police has fined individuals found in violation of the law.

In this regard, Police told Sun on Thursday that a total of 27 people have been fined by MVR 123,000 for violating the law since March 31^st.

The MVR 123,000 fines include MVR 82,000 for using vapes and MVR 41,000 for possession of vapes.

The new amendments introduced the following fines:

• MVR 5,000 for use of vapes
• MVR 20,000 for the sale of vape
• MVR 10,000 per vaping device sold
• MVR 10,000 for free distribution of vapes

According to the current administration, the vaping ban is part of a masterplan to reduce smoking in the Maldives.

In this regard, in November, Maldives enacted legislation increasing the specific rate of import duty on cigarettes and beedi from MVR 3 to MVR 8, and the ad valorem tax on the products by 50 percent.

Tobacco importers and distributors raised the prices of cigarettes following this change, with the price of common cigarette brands rising between MVR 240 to MVR 290 per pack, and MVR 2,240 per carton.

Moreover, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has recently announced plans to introduce a generational ban for smoking. In this regard, he has sought public opinion to the age group to impose the ban. The majority of the public supported a ban on smoking starting from individuals born in 2000.