Italy has always been a good performer in the Nanny State Index, but only by the standards of paternalistic Europe. Alcohol advertising is largely unrestricted. Taxes on spirits and cigarettes are relatively low and, as in most EU countries, there is no duty on wine. A tax on sugary drinks was planned for 2020 but was postponed until January 2021 due to COVID-19. In December 2020, it was pushed back again. It was supposed to be finally introduced on 1 January 2023 at a rate of €0.10 per litre, but it was once again postponed. The implementation date is currently 1 July 2025.

In 2014, Italy became the first EU country to tax e-cigarette fluid when Italian MPs complained about losing tobacco revenue. Initially set at a punitive rate of €0.38 per ml (€3.80 per standard bottle), the tax was subsequently raised to €0.3976 and linked to the Weighted Average Price (WAP) of cigarettes. This was the highest rate in the EU and was a significant constraint on Italy’s vaping scene. Fortunately, the government agreed to slash it to €0.13 per ml in January 2019. It then rose again, to €0.175 per ml, before being cut again to €0.13 per ml in 2022. Nicotine-free vape juice is taxed at €0.08/ml.

Italy has had a near-total ban on smoking in public places since 2005. In 2016, the ban was extended to private vehicles if a passenger is pregnant or younger than 18. Smoking is also banned in some parks. In January 2021, local authorities in Milan banned smoking at bus stops and some other outdoor areas. In January 2025, the city introduced one of the most extreme smoking bans in the world. Smoking is now banned outdoors entirely, except in designated areas at least 10 metres away from other people. Those who break the law can be fined up to €240. Smoking has also been banned on Venice’s Bibione beach.

Cross-border sales of e-cigarette fluid are banned but a ban on domestic internet sales was repealed in January 2019 before being reintroduced in January 2025. It has always been legal to use e-cigarettes indoors with few restrictions and the government never gold-plated the Tobacco Products Directive’s e-cigarette advertising laws. Nicotine pouches were legalised in February 2024 and the tax on heated tobacco, which is popular in Italy, is relatively low.

There is little in the way of food control policy although food and drinks that are ‘high in sugar, fat and caffeine’ were banned from school vending machines in 2014. Extreme policies such as plain packaging, display bans and minimum pricing have never got any traction in Italy.

With thanks to Istituto Bruno Leoni