After topping the table as the least liberal country in the Nanny State Index three times in a row, Finland now finds itself in third place. Adjusted for income, Finland’s alcohol taxes are even more brutal than Norway’s, but its temperance legislation is not as extensive as Lithuania’s and while its e-cigarette regulations are highly restrictive, they fall short of a total ban.

As in most Nordic countries, alcohol retail is a state monopoly in Finland. The 2018 Alcohol Act brought a degree of liberalisation, allowing the sale of alcoholic drinks of up to 5.5 per cent in grocery stores and permitting restaurants to advertise their happy hour discounts. Restaurant opening hours were relaxed and ‘the state-owned retailer Alko had its closing time pushed back from 8pm to 9pm.

These modest measures, which were opposed by temperance campaigners, represent the limits of Finnish liberalisation. Nearly all alcohol advertising outdoors was banned in 2015. Spirits cannot be advertised in any media. Wine and beer can only be advertised on television after 10pm.

E-cigarettes were illegal in Finland until May 2016 and are still heavily discouraged. A punitive tax on e-cigarette fluid of €0.30 per ml (€3.00 per standard bottle) was introduced on 1 January 2017 and also applies to ‘nicotine free liquids’. Internet and cross-border sales of e-cigarette products have been illegal since June 2017 and Finland is one of only three European countries to have major restrictions on flavours (the others are Hungary and Estonia). Only tobacco-flavoured and unflavoured fluid is allowed to be sold.

The explicit goal of Finnish tobacco control policies is to make Finland not only a smoke-free but also a nicotine-free country. The Tobacco Act, which came into force in August 2016, banned smoking in cars carrying children under the age of 15. Although snus is popular, all smokeless tobacco is banned and e-cigarettes are subject to the same regulation as tobacco, including a full advertising ban. Not only does this ban include e-cigarettes, it also includes products that resemble tobacco products, such as liquorice pipes. Shops have to buy a licence to sell tobacco and the price of the licences has risen sharply since 2016 in a deliberate attempt to discourage retailers from selling it. The new Tobacco Act also allows housing corporations to apply for a licence to make smoking illegal on their balconies and outdoor areas.

Perhaps due to the cold climate, Finland has a less draconian smoking ban than some EU countries and permits designated smoking rooms, but vaping is banned wherever smoking is banned and some outdoor areas are included. In addition to a total ban on tobacco advertising, there is a retail display ban and a vending machine ban.

Finland abolished its taxes on confectionery, chocolate and ice cream in January 2017. A tax on fizzy drinks remains in place at a rate of €0.22 per litre of sugar-sweetened drinks and €0.11 per litre of non-sugary drinks.