MDP will revoke vape ban, cut cigarette duty after consultations: Fayyaz

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairman Fayyaz Ismail on Wednesday said a future MDP government would overturn the current administration’s decision to ban vaping and raise cigarette duties after consulting the public.

Speaking at a meeting of the MDP National Assembly, held to express concern over the media regulation bill passed in Parliament on Tuesday, Fayyaz said his party would address what he described as errors made by President Mohamed Muizzu’s government.

“The suffering of the people, including the cigarette duty and the vape ban, are all matters that we will change with public consultation,” Fayyaz said.

He also criticised the government’s handling of the economy, saying businesses had collapsed and construction companies had shut down. He added that the economy was being sustained by the tourism sector but claimed that sudden changes in the sector had negatively affected resorts.

“The guesthouse business introduced by the MDP is bringing little to ordinary people,” he said, accusing the government of trying to weaken the guesthouse industry.

The government recently amended the Tobacco Control Act to ban vaping and impose fines on users and traders. Amendments also increased import duty on cigarettes and related products.

Since 2007, the law has been amended to support Cabinet policies, including the introduction of a generational ban on tobacco.