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Since the 2008 financial crisis, Greece has endured a wave of sin tax rises on everything from coffee to vape juice. Taxes on beer and spirits are well above the European average, although there is no wine duty (the Syriza government introduced a tax on wine for the first time in 2016, but this was annulled by Greece’s supreme administrative court in September 2018 and was abolished in January 2019).
In 2019, the then-new government launched the National Action Plan against smoking, which strengthened the enforcement of a smoking ban that had been widely ignored since being passed 11 years earlier. Smoking is prohibited in all workplaces, bars, and restaurants with no exceptions. Previously, there was an exemption for casinos and bars larger than 300 sq m, which could allow smoking in designated areas no larger than half of the total floor space, but this was abolished by the Council of State, Greece’s highest court, in March 2019.
Smoking in taxis and public transport is forbidden as well as in private vehicles if there is a passenger under 12 years old. Outdoor sports stadiums and some outdoor areas frequented by children are also covered by the ban.
Tobacco retail displays are banned with the exception of specialist tobacco outlets such as kiosks and duty-free shops. The sale of cigarettes from vending machines was banned in 2009. Despite this frenzy of anti-smoking legislation, Greece has the highest smoking rate in the EU.
E-cigarettes are legal, but Greeks cannot buy e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, or vaping fluids from other EU countries by mail order. E-cigarette advertising is banned everywhere except at the point of sale, and a tax on e-cigarette fluid of €0.10 per ml was introduced in January 2017. Vaping has been banned wherever smoking is banned since 2016. In March 2018, Greece’s High Court upheld the ban on vaping indoors. The previous government banned zero-nicotine e-cigarette liquids in an attempt to stop vapers from mixing their own fluid, but this unusual law has now been repealed.
Alcohol advertising is mostly unrestricted, although it cannot be broadcast on TV and radio during programmes that are targeted at children. Greece does not have a plain packaging mandate, a mandatory closing time for bars, or a sugar tax.
With thanks to Constantinos Saravakos, Center for Liberal Studies
About
The Nanny State Index (NSI) is a league table of the worst places in Europe to eat, drink, smoke and vape. The initiative was launched in March 2016 and was a media hit right across Europe. It is masterminded and led by IEA’s Christopher Snowdon with partners from all over Europe.
Enquiries: info@epicenternetwork.eu
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About the Editor
Christopher Snowdon is the head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs. His research focuses on lifestyle freedoms, prohibition and policy-based evidence. He is a regular contributor to the Spectator, Telegraph and Spiked and often appears on TV and radio discussing social and economic issues.
Snowdon’s work encompasses a diverse range of topics including ‘sin taxes’, state funding of charities, happiness economics, ‘public health’ regulation, gambling and the black market. Recent publications include ‘Drinking, Fast and Slow’, ‘The Proof of the Pudding: Denmark’s Fat Tax Fiasco’, ‘A Safer Bet’, and ‘You Had One Job’. He is also the author of ‘Killjoys’ (2017), ‘Selfishness, Greed and Capitalism’ (2015), ‘The Art of Suppression’ (2011), ‘The Spirit Level Delusion’ (2010), ‘Velvet Glove, Iron Fist’ (2009).
Greece 2023
Since the 2008 financial crisis, Greece has endured a wave of sin tax rises on everything from coffee to vape juice. Taxes on beer and spirits are well above the European average, although there is no wine duty (the Syriza government introduced a tax on wine for the first time in 2016, but this was annulled by Greece’s supreme administrative court in September 2018 and was abolished in January 2019).
In 2019, the then-new government launched the National Action Plan against smoking, which strengthened the enforcement of a smoking ban that had been widely ignored since being passed 11 years earlier. Smoking is prohibited in all workplaces, bars, and restaurants with no exceptions. Previously, there was an exemption for casinos and bars larger than 300 sq m, which could allow smoking in designated areas no larger than half of the total floor space, but this was abolished by the Council of State, Greece’s highest court, in March 2019.
Smoking in taxis and public transport is forbidden as well as in private vehicles if there is a passenger under 12 years old. Outdoor sports stadiums and some outdoor areas frequented by children are also covered by the ban.
Tobacco retail displays are banned with the exception of specialist tobacco outlets such as kiosks and duty-free shops. The sale of cigarettes from vending machines was banned in 2009. Despite this frenzy of anti-smoking legislation, Greece has the highest smoking rate in the EU.
E-cigarettes are legal, but Greeks cannot buy e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, or vaping fluids from other EU countries by mail order. E-cigarette advertising is banned everywhere except at the point of sale, and a tax on e-cigarette fluid of €0.10 per ml was introduced in January 2017. Vaping has been banned wherever smoking is banned since 2016. In March 2018, Greece’s High Court upheld the ban on vaping indoors. The previous government banned zero-nicotine e-cigarette liquids in an attempt to stop vapers from mixing their own fluid, but this unusual law has now been repealed.
Alcohol advertising is mostly unrestricted, although it cannot be broadcast on TV and radio during programmes that are targeted at children. Greece does not have a plain packaging mandate, a mandatory closing time for bars, or a sugar tax.
With thanks to Constantinos Saravakos, Center for Liberal Studies
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