Which European country has the largest nanny state?
16 May 2025
SUGGESTED
Lifestyle Economics
In the Media
Lifestyle Economics
10 June 2025
Chris Snowdon writes in the Spectator
Dr Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, has written for the Spectator on the latest edition of the Nanny State Index.
The article said:
“Across Europe, Nanny’s influence is growing: there has been a steady erosion of liberty for those of us who like to eat, drink, vape or smoke. Leading the pack in the 2025 Nanny State Index is Turkey where the state’s penchant for control borders on fetishistic, banning vapes outright and taxing alcohol off the scale. Its only saving grace is that so many of its little prohibitions are poorly enforced.
“Hot on its heels is Lithuania, where the war on fun is fought with puritanical zeal. Alcohol is a particular target, with the drinking age raised to 20 a few years ago and all advertising banned. E-cigarettes are not outlawed entirely but are saddled with such a ludicrously high tax – €6.30 (£5.30) per bottle – that they might as well be.
“Finland, Hungary and Ireland make up the rest of the top five. In Ireland, cigarettes are priced as if they were Fabergé eggs and the state deems its citizens too feeble-minded to navigate a supermarket without state-issued blinkers. ‘Booze curtains’ were introduced in 2020 to shield shoppers’ eyes from bottles of plonk and minimum pricing for alcohol came into force in 2022. Paternalistic Finland has seen slivers of liberalisation in recent years, repealing its tax on sweets and weakening its state monopoly on alcohol. But it still has high scores across the board. Hungary has gone after vaping with the fervour of a medieval inquisitor and has Europe’s most extensive array of food and soft drink taxes.”
Read the full article here.
The article said:
“Across Europe, Nanny’s influence is growing: there has been a steady erosion of liberty for those of us who like to eat, drink, vape or smoke. Leading the pack in the 2025 Nanny State Index is Turkey where the state’s penchant for control borders on fetishistic, banning vapes outright and taxing alcohol off the scale. Its only saving grace is that so many of its little prohibitions are poorly enforced.
“Hot on its heels is Lithuania, where the war on fun is fought with puritanical zeal. Alcohol is a particular target, with the drinking age raised to 20 a few years ago and all advertising banned. E-cigarettes are not outlawed entirely but are saddled with such a ludicrously high tax – €6.30 (£5.30) per bottle – that they might as well be.
“Finland, Hungary and Ireland make up the rest of the top five. In Ireland, cigarettes are priced as if they were Fabergé eggs and the state deems its citizens too feeble-minded to navigate a supermarket without state-issued blinkers. ‘Booze curtains’ were introduced in 2020 to shield shoppers’ eyes from bottles of plonk and minimum pricing for alcohol came into force in 2022. Paternalistic Finland has seen slivers of liberalisation in recent years, repealing its tax on sweets and weakening its state monopoly on alcohol. But it still has high scores across the board. Hungary has gone after vaping with the fervour of a medieval inquisitor and has Europe’s most extensive array of food and soft drink taxes.”
Read the full article here.
SHARE
