Very few vape sticks now seen in schools: Education Minister

Education Minister Dr Ismail Shafeeu has said that incidents of students bringing vape sticks to schools have dropped comparatively.

Speaking during a special TV programme on the government’s newly implemented “generational tobacco ban”, which prohibits tobacco use for Maldivians born in 2007 and after, Minister Shafeeu said that schools once reported 50–60 vape sticks daily in Male' area schools, the number that has now fallen significantly.

“Now there are very few such cases. We don’t even see one or two a week,” he said.

The import and use of vapes were banned in December last year, a move the minister described as vital for students’ health and for building “a healthy generation.” He added that the Maldives has become “an example for the world” due to these policy decisions.

Minister Shafeeu said about 150 people die annually from tobacco related illnesses, while the country spends around MVR 1.8 billion each year on tobacco imports.

According to the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), 45 percent of Maldivian schoolchildren use some form of tobacco, including 17 percent who vape.

The generational ban, which came into effect yesterday, is the country’s most significant anti-tobacco measure yet. It bans the sale of tobacco products to anyone born in or after 2007. The law also raises the minimum legal age for tobacco purchase from 18 to 21 and requires age verification when in doubt.