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.
It can work if there’s a safer legal alternative. Like theres a black market for moonshine but it’s miniscule compared to the whole alcohol market because most people would rather go to a normal store and buy vodka instead cause they know what they’re getting. Same with tobacco, they aren’t banning all nicotine products, just smoking, so if the options are to smoke this probably contaminated tobacco you get off the black market or vape / chew nicotine products that have some quality assurance most people will choose the latter.
That’s a good point - with a safer / more convenient alternative it no longer makes sense to get the prohibited item from a suspicious source.
I didn’t see much for alternatives mentioned in the article, so I’d imagine something like this would then boost other nicotine options like chewables or patches…? I’m curious to see where it goes. I can’t help but think it just pushes the issue somewhere else rather than solving it.
It at least solves the problem of - those who don’t want to inhale it having to inhale it along with the air they breathe.
If people want to fill their own bodies with random drugs that make them fake-happy, might as well let them.
Oh, and using peer pressure to make someone use drugs need to be in a similar category to assault.