The Maldives has made history by creating the world's first law that stops a whole generation of young people from ever smoking. This new rule started on November 1st, after the country's President, Mohamed Muizzu, suggested it earlier this year. This landmark ban affects everyone living in the Maldives who was born on or after January 1, 2007. Essentially, if you belong to this generation, you are now legally banned from ever smoking, buying, or using any type of tobacco product. Who Is No Longer Permitted To Smoke In Maldives? The new law is very clear: it makes it illegal for an entire group of young people to use or buy any form of tobacco, including cigarettes. Shops that sell products must now check the ID of customers to make sure they are old enough to buy tobacco. The Ministry of Health announced that this is a "huge moment in history" for the country. They say the goal is to protect everyone's health and make sure this new generation can grow up completely free from tobacco. The Ministry added that the ban shows the government is serious about keeping young people safe from the dangers of smoking. This new smoking ban fits with rules that Maldives already had in place. The country already has a complete and total ban on e-cigarettes and vaping products. It is illegal to bring them in, sell them, own them, or use them, no matter how old you are. The new generational ban simply strengthens the country's overall fight against all nicotine products. Do Smoking Bans Help Public Health? According to the World Health Organization, tobacco is responsible for 1.1 million deaths each year, just in the WHO European Region, and 153,000 people die due to exposure to second-hand smoke. They explain that tobacco in any form is deadly, even second hand smoke is a major contributor to non-communicable diseases like heart diseases, lung cancer, diabetes and stroke etc. Previous studies have also found that smoking bans do benefit public health. A 2009 study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that banning smoking in public places significantly reduces the risk of heart attacks. This is especially true for younger people and nonsmokers. They found that these bans can cut the number of heart attacks by up to 26 percent each year.Researchers explained that even breathing in a small amount of cigarette smoke can raise your risk of a heart attack.They pointed out that the smoking bans seem very effective because secondhand smoke is very harmful to the heart. While smoking directly doubles the risk of a heart attack, being exposed to secondhand smoke increases the risk by 30 percent. Dr. Meyers added that if a nationwide ban were put in place, it could prevent as many as 154,000 heart attacks annually in the U.S. How Quickly Do Smoking Bans Show Results? The study found that smoking bans start helping people almost right away. The beneficial effects begin to appear within just three months of the ban starting, with fewer reported heart attack cases. Researchers believe secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart attacks in a few ways: It makes the blood "sticky", which makes it easier for dangerous clots to form.It lowers the amount of "good" (HDL) cholesterol in the body.It makes people more likely to have dangerous heart rhythms.The smoking bans were shown to be particularly effective in reducing heart attacks among women and younger individuals. The experts suggest this might be because younger people often spend time in places like bars, clubs, and restaurants where smoking used to be common. People who work in those places, such as the hospitality industry, are often the most exposed to smoke and therefore get the greatest benefit from the ban.
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