Is Nicotine legal in Maldives?
- Legal status
- Nicotine is legal in the Maldives in combustible tobacco (though a generational tobacco ban applies from November 2025) and in nicotine-replacement therapy, but the nicotine DELIVERY product is banned for all ages. An amendment to the Tobacco Control Act signed by President Muizzu prohibits the import, sale, free distribution, possession and use of e-cigarettes and vaping products — import barred from 15 November 2024 and use/sale from 15 December 2024 — binding residents and tourists alike.
- Consequences if caught
- Importing, selling, distributing, possessing or using a vape is an offence with fines including up to MVR 50,000 for importation (plus MVR 10,000 per item), MVR 20,000 for sale and MVR 5,000 for use; the ban reaches tourists and personal-use imports, making it a traveler trap.
- If prescribed or medical
- Nicotine-replacement therapy remains lawful as a medicine; there is no medical or prescription route to a vaping device.
- Documentation
- No import permit is available for personal vapes — they may not be brought into the country.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Maldives’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately — not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →