Sat, 14 Jun 2025
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Government enforces new tobacco control rules, restricts public smoking
12 Feb 2025
|
Photo: Atoll Times
The Government has officially gazetted the General Rules on Tobacco Control, requiring cafés and restaurants to establish designated smoking areas.
The new regulations, announced on Wednesday, impose restrictions on smoking in most public spaces while permitting designated areas in specific locations.
Permitted Smoking Areas
Under the new rules, smoking areas will be allowed in the following locations:
- Airports and ports where transit traffic is arranged
- Shopping malls
- Tea houses, cafés, and restaurants
- State-run detention facilities
- Industrial workplaces, including resorts
Additionally, designated smoking areas may also be permitted in:
- Temporary camps set up to accommodate disaster victims
- Open spaces within Government agencies, state-owned enterprises, and organisations with official responsibilities
Permit Requirements
Any establishment wishing to set up a smoking area must obtain written approval from the Ministry of Health. A permit fee of MVR 10,000 will be charged, and further regulations detailing the conditions, standards, and validity periods for these permits will be introduced by the ministry.
Penalties for Violations
Businesses that fail to comply with the regulations will face the following penalties:
- MVR 3,000 fine for the first violation
- MVR 5,000 fine for the second violation
- From the third violation onwards, the fine will double with each repeated offence
- If a business commits two further violations after the third offence, its licence will be temporarily suspended
- The suspension will only be lifted once all penalties have been paid
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