{"id":16079,"date":"2025-05-20T02:30:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T21:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16079"},"modified":"2025-05-20T02:30:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T21:30:39","slug":"president-muizzu-honoured-by-who-for-pioneering-tobacco-control-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16079","title":{"rendered":"President Muizzu Honoured by WHO for Pioneering Tobacco Control Measures"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" data-start=\"78\" data-end=\"316\">President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has been awarded the <strong data-start=\"163\" data-end=\"231\">World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General\u2019s Special Award<\/strong>, recognising his bold and impactful initiatives to curb tobacco use in the Maldives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"318\" data-end=\"676\">The prestigious accolade is part of WHO\u2019s annual recognition programme, which honours individuals and organisations across its six global regions for exceptional contributions to tobacco control. In 2025, the organisation is honouring thirty-six global figures, with only one recipient selected for the <strong data-start=\"621\" data-end=\"675\">Director-General\u2019s Special Recognition Certificate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"678\" data-end=\"1163\">President Muizzu was recognised for his government\u2019s decisive policies aimed at reducing tobacco consumption, including a <strong data-start=\"800\" data-end=\"864\">nationwide ban on the import, sale, and use of vape products<\/strong>, and a <strong data-start=\"872\" data-end=\"921\">sharp increase in import duties on cigarettes<\/strong>. Notably, his administration introduced a <strong data-start=\"964\" data-end=\"992\">generational smoking ban<\/strong>, which prohibits the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after <strong data-start=\"1066\" data-end=\"1085\">January 1, 2007<\/strong>\u2014a groundbreaking step that has drawn praise from international health bodies.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Congratulations Dr Mohamed Muizzu (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MMuizzu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MMuizzu<\/a>), President, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Maldives?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Maldives<\/a> \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfb, for receiving the WHO Director-General Special award, for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/tobacco?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#tobacco<\/a> control, saving lives and creating a healthier future for all.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd17: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TmVDMeB2xg\">https:\/\/t.co\/TmVDMeB2xg<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WHA78?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WHA78<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NoTobacco?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NoTobacco<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RTChnjfFyj\">pic.twitter.com\/RTChnjfFyj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 World Health Organization South-East Asia (@WHOSEARO) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHOSEARO\/status\/1924438086257090748?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1165\" data-end=\"1328\">The <strong data-start=\"1169\" data-end=\"1217\">Ministry of Health and Wellness of Mauritius<\/strong> also received the Director-General\u2019s Special Award alongside President Muizzu for its work in tobacco control.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1330\" data-end=\"1665\">The WHO has commended the Maldives for being the <strong data-start=\"1379\" data-end=\"1426\">first country in the South-East Asia region<\/strong> to implement a generational smoking ban, calling it a bold and visionary step. The organisation noted that this move sets an important precedent for regional health initiatives and supports the long-term goal of a tobacco-free generation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1667\" data-end=\"1968\">Under President Muizzu\u2019s leadership, the Maldivian government has completed all the necessary legal steps to enforce the generational ban. The targeted age group was determined through a <strong data-start=\"1854\" data-end=\"1896\">public poll conducted via social media<\/strong>, reflecting broad community engagement in shaping public health policy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1970\" data-end=\"2147\">Since taking office, President Muizzu has prioritised the health and well-being of Maldivians, with tobacco control standing out as a central pillar of his public health agenda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has been awarded the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General\u2019s Special Award, recognising his bold and impactful initiatives to curb tobacco use in the Maldives. The prestigious accolade is part of WHO\u2019s annual recognition programme, which honours individuals and organisations across its six global regions for exceptional contributions to tobacco control. In<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2948,2981,2994,2507],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16079","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-awards","8":"category-government","9":"category-national-news","10":"category-top-stories-featured-area"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>President Muizzu Honoured by WHO for Pioneering Tobacco Control Measures - Maldives Business Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16079\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Muizzu Honoured by WHO for Pioneering Tobacco Control Measures - Maldives Business Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has been awarded the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General\u2019s Special Award, recognising his bold and impactful initiatives to curb tobacco use in the Maldives. The prestigious accolade is part of WHO\u2019s annual recognition programme, which honours individuals and organisations across its six global regions for exceptional contributions to tobacco control. 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