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Traditionally the most liberal Scandinavian country, Denmark has taken a turn for the worse in recent years. Plain packaging for tobacco was introduced in 2021 and was extended to e-cigarettes in 2022. In 2022, Denmark also banned all vape juice flavours apart from tobacco and menthol. As if that were not bad enough, the government introduced a hefty tax on e-cigarette fluid of 1.5 kroner (€0.20) per ml for up to 12 mg/ ml of nicotine and 2.5 kroner (€0.40) for more than 12 mg/ml of nicotine.
Vapers had already been hit with a retail display ban for e-cigarettes and a total ban on e-cigarette advertising. Advertisements for nicotine pouches are also banned. A retail display ban for tobacco was introduced in January 2021, and the law was written in such a way that it amounted to a de facto ban on cigarette vending machines. Loose snus, which escaped earlier EU laws, was banned in January 2016. The government is now considering whether to permanently ban the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2010.
E-cigarettes were classified as medical products in Denmark until 2016 and were unavailable to the public, but e-cigarettes and vaping fluids were then legalised as consumer products. Vaping has always been permitted in public places (except in children’s areas, in taxis, and on public transport), but advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of e-cigarette products are banned in all media.
Taxes on beer, wine, and spirits are low by Scandinavian standards but high by any other standard. Most forms of alcohol marketing are legal and Denmark is the only Nordic country that does not have a statutory closing time for bars.
For the time being, at least, smoking is less restricted than in most EU countries, and tobacco duty is relatively low once adjusted for incomes. Although smoking is generally prohibited indoors, there is an exemption for small pubs. Ventilated smoking rooms are permitted in restaurants and workplaces.
Denmark’s experiment with a ‘fat tax’ in 2011–13 was a notorious disaster and was swiftly repealed along with a tax on sugary drinks. However, the Chocolate Tax Act, implemented in January 2020, has since hiked the price of confectionery, chocolate, chewing gum, and even some ‘sugar-free’ products. A range of products, including chocolate, liquorice, cakes, and biscuits are taxed at the rate of 22.08 DKK per kilogram (€3.50) if they contain more than 0.5 g of sugar per 100 g.
With thanks to Jonas Herby and Line Andersen at CEPOS
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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Previous versions: 2021, 2019, 2017
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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).
Denmark 2023
Traditionally the most liberal Scandinavian country, Denmark has taken a turn for the worse in recent years. Plain packaging for tobacco was introduced in 2021 and was extended to e-cigarettes in 2022. In 2022, Denmark also banned all vape juice flavours apart from tobacco and menthol. As if that were not bad enough, the government introduced a hefty tax on e-cigarette fluid of 1.5 kroner (€0.20) per ml for up to 12 mg/ ml of nicotine and 2.5 kroner (€0.40) for more than 12 mg/ml of nicotine.
Vapers had already been hit with a retail display ban for e-cigarettes and a total ban on e-cigarette advertising. Advertisements for nicotine pouches are also banned. A retail display ban for tobacco was introduced in January 2021, and the law was written in such a way that it amounted to a de facto ban on cigarette vending machines. Loose snus, which escaped earlier EU laws, was banned in January 2016. The government is now considering whether to permanently ban the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2010.
E-cigarettes were classified as medical products in Denmark until 2016 and were unavailable to the public, but e-cigarettes and vaping fluids were then legalised as consumer products. Vaping has always been permitted in public places (except in children’s areas, in taxis, and on public transport), but advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of e-cigarette products are banned in all media.
Taxes on beer, wine, and spirits are low by Scandinavian standards but high by any other standard. Most forms of alcohol marketing are legal and Denmark is the only Nordic country that does not have a statutory closing time for bars.
For the time being, at least, smoking is less restricted than in most EU countries, and tobacco duty is relatively low once adjusted for incomes. Although smoking is generally prohibited indoors, there is an exemption for small pubs. Ventilated smoking rooms are permitted in restaurants and workplaces.
Denmark’s experiment with a ‘fat tax’ in 2011–13 was a notorious disaster and was swiftly repealed along with a tax on sugary drinks. However, the Chocolate Tax Act, implemented in January 2020, has since hiked the price of confectionery, chocolate, chewing gum, and even some ‘sugar-free’ products. A range of products, including chocolate, liquorice, cakes, and biscuits are taxed at the rate of 22.08 DKK per kilogram (€3.50) if they contain more than 0.5 g of sugar per 100 g.
With thanks to Jonas Herby and Line Andersen at CEPOS
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