Czechia ranked 26th out of 30 countries in this year’s Nanny State Index, maintaining its reputation of lifestyle freedom, but continuing to fall in the rankings. The higher a country ranks, the more regulated its lifestyle is. Our country’s approach to regulating food, beverages, alcohol, and electronic cigarettes remains largely liberal. However, in 2017, Czechia was the most liberal country in the ranking.
Martin Pánek, director of the Institute for Liberal Studies, which publishes the Nanny State Index in Czechia, commented on this year’s results:
“We do not have a very good translation for the English term nanny state, which describes a situation where the state acts like a nanny. Perhaps this is because, unlike the British government, ours does not try so hard to educate us, as the now published index shows. Only in tobacco taxation are we worse off than the European average.”
“However, some politicians and advisors in the National Council of Economic Advisors are voicing dangerous opinions that the government should tax and educate us more, for example that we should regulate and tax sweetened beverages. Let’s not allow to be taken away from us our freedom to live as we want,” Pánek continues.
Germany once again ranked first as the freest country in Europe with the fewest regulations. Luxembourg and Italy ranked second and third in terms of liberal attitudes toward their citizens’ lifestyle choices.
Turkey is the least free European country also in terms of lifestyle, with bans, taxation, and regulation on the consumption of food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcohol, tobacco, and electronic cigarettes. Lithuania and Finland ranked second and third worst in this year’s index.
The Nanny State Index has been tracking lifestyle regulation in Europe since 2016. There are only isolated examples of paternalistic policies being abolished, such as in this year’s ranking of Finland, which has finally managed to break the government monopoly on alcohol sales, but the overall trend in Europe is towards greater regulation and government intervention. This is despite all the evidence pointing to the fact that paternalistic regulations have no positive impact on health outcomes.
Christopher Snowdon, head of the lifestyle economics department at the Institute of Economic Affairs and project manager for the Nanny State Index 2025, commented on this year’s results:
“Most European countries are in a downward spiral of nanny state overreach, and they should take no comfort from being more liberal than Turkey. Even the countries at the bottom of the table are mostly getting worse. Of the 29 countries in the Index, 20 now have e-cigarette taxes, and 11 have taxes on soft drinks. Governments are lining up to ban or over-regulate nicotine pouches, disposable vapes, and so-called ‘junk food’. None of this regressive meddling is working. The nanny state is making us poorer, not healthier.”
Key findings from the 2025 Index:
- Hungary remains the most restrictive country with regards to food and soft drinks, maintaining high taxes on food and drinks deemed unhealthy, while Poland has banned the sale of energy drinks to under-18s and France has expanded its sugary drink tax. Conversely, many countries – including Germany, Czechia, and the Netherlands – continue to impose no food or soft drink restrictions.
- Alcohol regulation continues to intensify, particularly through taxation and advertising restrictions. Lithuania, Ireland, and Turkey remain the most restrictive. On the other hand, Belgium and Denmark have among the most liberal alcohol policies in Europe.
- The UK tops the chart with the most restrictive tobacco policies, followed by Hungary and Ireland. Measures include high taxation, retail display bans, and standardized packaging. Luxembourg and Germany remain the most permissive on combustible tobacco.
- This year’s Index introduces a dedicated category covering e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco, and snus. Regulation of these alternatives is often harsher than that of cigarettes. Turkey, Lithuania, and Hungary are the most restrictive, while Italy, Ireland, and the UK surprisingly show more liberal approaches. Notably, Belgium became the first EU country to ban disposable vapes in January 2025.
Detailed assessments for each country and the methodology used in the study can be found on the dedicated website NannyStateIndex.org.
