The World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed the government's decision to ban vaping in the Maldives.

In a post on X, WHO said the decision is an important initiative "to arrest the worrying trend of increase in vaping, specially among young adolescents."

"As per the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 23.1 percent boys and 10.7 percent girls in the age group of 13 to 15 years had used e-cigarettes in Maldives," it read.

On Monday, the government announced a ban on the import, use and trade of vaping devices and their components from December.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham said that the necessary amendments to the law will be sent to the Parliament this week.

Vaping is banned in 34 countries while 73 countries impose strict rules for the use of vapes and electronic cigarettes.