MALE, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Maldives government on Saturday banned the sale of single cigarettes across the island country as part of its efforts to discourage smoking, local media reports said.
The government also passed a new regulation on packaging and labelling all tobacco products which will now only allow a pack of 20 cigarettes to be sold.
The regulation also mandates all tobacco packaging to be labelled as required by the Health Ministry and to provide a sample of all tobacco items before selling it.
The Health Ministry will place graphic health warning labels on the cigarette packs with larger fonts.
Over 462 million cigarettes are imported to the Maldives annually, according to statistics released by the Maldives Customs Service.
President Mohamed Ibrahim Solih on Friday appealed to the nation to bid farewell to smoking and the consumption of harmful substances in order to promote healthy lifestyles.
