The tobacco control master plan will be completed early next year, Minister of Health Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim said Wednesday.
The Minister of Health made these remarks during the opening ceremony of the round table meeting held to discuss the amendments to the Drug Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Health Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim said President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has taken several bold steps to ensure public health where his predecessors had failed.
Under the instructions of the President, the Minister noted that several tobacco products had been banned in the Maldives, adding that efforts are already in motion to ensure a tobacco free society.
The Ministry of Health is currently working on a national long-term plan for tobacco control, he said. The Minister said the draft for the long-term plan would be completed early next year and its implementation will begin immediately after.
"We need the cooperation of every citizen to do this by raising awareness about tobacco, implementing the Tobacco Control Act and providing other assistance to people looking to kick the habit. I urge each and every one of you to be anti-tobacco,” Nazim said.
According to the Minister, in addition to the long-term plan, cessation clinics are being set up across the country to control tobacco, adding that staff training for the clinics are already underway.
The round table meeting on amendments to the Drug Prevention and Tobacco Control Act is jointly organised by the Health Protection Agency and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF. UNICEF has been hosting such round table meetings since last year.
The fourth round table of the year will discuss tobacco control measures in Maldives and to protect children and youth from tobacco use.
The government has been taking landmark steps against tobacco use. One of the biggest measures was to increase the duty on imported cigarettes and the nationwide ban on use and sale of vape products.