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Poland remains in ninth place in the league table and ticks most of the boxes for being a typical European nanny state. It has a sugar tax and an e-cigarette tax. Wine and spirits advertising is banned entirely, and beer can only be advertised on television after 8 PM, with advertisements subject to a 10 per cent tax. Drinking is illegal on streets and in parks unless municipal authorities specifically allow it in designated places.
Taxes on alcohol are well above the EU average once adjusted for income. In February 2018, the government passed a law allowing local authorities to limit the number of liquor stores and restrict sales after 10 PM. In 2021, a new tax on spirits sold in small bottles (under 300 ml) was introduced to discourage their consumption. Levied at 25 zloty (€5.55) per litre of pure alcohol, it led to at least one company producing a range of 350 ml bottles.
Poland has a near-total ban on tobacco advertising which it has extended to e-cigarettes. Cigarette vending machines are prohibited, and it is even illegal to display products that imitate the packaging of cigarettes. It has a severe, though not a total, ban on smoking in bars, restaurants, and workplaces. Poland was particularly badly hit by the EU’s ban on menthol cigarettes, which came into force in May 2020, since around 30 per cent of Polish smokers prefer menthol.
In October 2020, the government implemented a tax of 0.55 zloty (€0.12) per ml of e-cigarette fluid and introduced a tax on heated tobacco of 155.79 zloty (€34) per kg plus a 32.05 per cent ad valorem tax. The Ministry of Justice and some other politicians want to further increase taxes on heated tobacco to reduce the differences in tax burden between these lower-risk products and traditional cigarettes.
A sugary drink tax passed through the parliament in 2020, and it was implemented at the beginning of 2021. When critics accused the government of breaking its promise to not raise taxes, the deputy finance minister said that the sugary drinks tax was ‘a surcharge, not a tax’. The ‘surcharge’ amounts to 0.5 Polish zloty (€0.12) per litre for drinks with 5 g sugar per 100 ml or less, plus 0.05 Polish zloty (€0.012) for each additional gram of sugar above 5 g/100 ml. The tax applies to artificially sweetened drinks as well as sugary drinks. Energy drinks face an additional tax of 0.10 zloty (€0.022) per litre.
Poland’s Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health have expressed an interest in taxing so-called ‘junk food’. Fortunately, nothing has come of this yet. A ban on the sale of energy drinks to people aged under18 is planned for 2024.
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).
Poland 2023
Poland remains in ninth place in the league table and ticks most of the boxes for being a typical European nanny state. It has a sugar tax and an e-cigarette tax. Wine and spirits advertising is banned entirely, and beer can only be advertised on television after 8 PM, with advertisements subject to a 10 per cent tax. Drinking is illegal on streets and in parks unless municipal authorities specifically allow it in designated places.
Taxes on alcohol are well above the EU average once adjusted for income. In February 2018, the government passed a law allowing local authorities to limit the number of liquor stores and restrict sales after 10 PM. In 2021, a new tax on spirits sold in small bottles (under 300 ml) was introduced to discourage their consumption. Levied at 25 zloty (€5.55) per litre of pure alcohol, it led to at least one company producing a range of 350 ml bottles.
Poland has a near-total ban on tobacco advertising which it has extended to e-cigarettes. Cigarette vending machines are prohibited, and it is even illegal to display products that imitate the packaging of cigarettes. It has a severe, though not a total, ban on smoking in bars, restaurants, and workplaces. Poland was particularly badly hit by the EU’s ban on menthol cigarettes, which came into force in May 2020, since around 30 per cent of Polish smokers prefer menthol.
In October 2020, the government implemented a tax of 0.55 zloty (€0.12) per ml of e-cigarette fluid and introduced a tax on heated tobacco of 155.79 zloty (€34) per kg plus a 32.05 per cent ad valorem tax. The Ministry of Justice and some other politicians want to further increase taxes on heated tobacco to reduce the differences in tax burden between these lower-risk products and traditional cigarettes.
A sugary drink tax passed through the parliament in 2020, and it was implemented at the beginning of 2021. When critics accused the government of breaking its promise to not raise taxes, the deputy finance minister said that the sugary drinks tax was ‘a surcharge, not a tax’. The ‘surcharge’ amounts to 0.5 Polish zloty (€0.12) per litre for drinks with 5 g sugar per 100 ml or less, plus 0.05 Polish zloty (€0.012) for each additional gram of sugar above 5 g/100 ml. The tax applies to artificially sweetened drinks as well as sugary drinks. Energy drinks face an additional tax of 0.10 zloty (€0.022) per litre.
Poland’s Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health have expressed an interest in taxing so-called ‘junk food’. Fortunately, nothing has come of this yet. A ban on the sale of energy drinks to people aged under18 is planned for 2024.
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