The Maldives will attempt to stamp out smoking across the South Asian luxury tourist archipelago this year with a ban making it illegal for anyone currently under 19 to ever buy cigarettes. So, if one is planning a trip to the Maldives…he/she might have to leave cigarettes at home!

A proposed law will prohibit the sale of tobacco products to individuals born after a January 2007 cut-off date, effectively phasing out smoking for future generations.

"The new legislation is set to come into force on November 1, 2025," President Mohamed Muizzu's office said in a statement issued after a cabinet meeting.

The penalties for breaching the new law were not immediately announced but officials said they were working to amend existing tobacco control laws to bring them in line with the new legislation.

A similar law proposed in Britain is still in the legislative process, while New Zealand -- the first country to enact a generational law against smoking -- repealed it in November 2023, less than a year after it was introduced.

The Maldives raised the legal age for smoking from 18 to 21 in November and banned the importation of e-cigarettes and vaping devices, a policy that also applies to tourists.

Maldives’ banning smoking for future generations is essential also as it harms almost every bodily organ and organ system in the body and diminishes a person's overall health.

Smoking causes cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, cervix, colon, and rectum, as well as acute myeloid leukemia.

People who smoke do so because they are addicted to “nicotine”, but the harm comes from the tar, carbon monoxide, and other chemicals in the smoke . Many of the chemicals can cause cancer. Others are poisonous. When one smokes, these chemicals damage lungs and can pass into blood and spread through the user’s body.

Within 10 seconds of first puff, the toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke reach brain, heart and other organs. Smoking harms almost every part of one’ body and increases risk of many diseases. Smoking also affects how one looks and feels, finances and the people close.

As per a research, nicotine in tobacco is highly addictive. It makes one’s brain release a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is a ‘feel good’ chemical that makes the user feel happy, to concentrate, and also provides more energy, however momentarily.

Such effects do not last long. As the nicotine levels in the body fade, brain starts craving for more dopamine. The longer one has been smoking, the more dopamine is needed to feel good. So, one becomes dependent on nicotine to maintain this feel.

Once one is dependent on nicotine, without it one may find it difficult to concentrate and feels nervous, restless, irritable or anxious.

Nicotine dependence and nicotine withdrawal – make one want to smoke more, and so becomes addicted to tobacco-which is thus harmful.

How tobacco damages body:

Tobacco contains over 100 dangerous chemicals. These chemicals can damage a body in many ways. For example:

Nicotine narrows veins and arteries. This can damage heart by forcing it to work faster and harder; slows blood and reduce oxygen to feet and hands.

Carbon monoxide deprives heart of the oxygen it needs to pump blood around body. Over time, air-ways swell up and let less air into lungs.

Tar is a sticky substance that coats lungs like soot in a chimney. This damages lungs and is known to cause lung disease, which can make it harder to breathe.

Phenols paralyze and kill the hair-like cells in airways. These means the cells cannot sweep clean the lining of airways and protect against infections.

Tiny particles in tobacco smoke irritate throat and lungs and cause ‘smoker’s cough’. This makes produce more mucus and damages lung tissue.

Ammonia and formaldehyde irritate eyes, nose and throat.

Cancer-causing chemicals make cells grow too fast or abnormally- which can result in cancer cells. Smoking is known to cause at least 16 types of cancer.

How tobacco affects the way one looks:

• Smoking tobacco can cause yellow-brown stains on fingers, tongue and teeth.
• Increase risk of tooth loss, damaged gums and bad breath.
• Makes skin saggy and gives early wrinkles.
• Makes hair lose its natural shine.

Health effects:

If one smokes, one reduces life expectancy and quality of life; increase risk of many conditions and diseases as well as of dying prematurely.

It can be a long time before smokers get a smoking-related condition or disease. Because of this, some people believe it won’t happen to them.

In fact, up to ⅔ of long-term smokers die of a smoking-related disease; have their life cut short by about 10 years on average, compared to non-smokers.

There is also growing evidence to suggest that smoking has a negative impact on mental health. For example, some studies show that smoking is associated with increased rates of anxiety, panic attacks, depression, suicide attempts and schizophrenia.