Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Turkey
United Kingdom
Romania comes sixteenth in this year’s index, but is likely to rise in the future. A soft drinks tax has been tabled and new anti-smoking legislation is on the cards, but nothing has come of this at the time of writing. A bill drawn up in 2020 proposed a retail display ban for tobacco, extending the smoking ban to e-cigarette use, banning all e-cigarette advertising, banning smoking in cars if children are present, and prohibiting the small amount of tobacco advertising that is still permitted.
Romania has no wine duty. Although its taxes on spirits and beer seem low in cash terms, they are significantly more punitive once adjusted for income. Tobacco duty is the highest of any country in the index after adjusting for income and its tax on heated tobacco is not far behind.
Since March 2016, Romania has had one of Europe’s toughest bans on smoking in workplaces, including all bars and restaurants. Only airports and prisons are exempt. After protests from the public, parliament looked at amending the ban to provide designated smoking sections but this was rejected.
Vaping is not included in Romania’s smoking ban, but it is banned on public transport. E-cigarettes are legal to buy, but 2016 saw the introduction of an e-cigarette tax of €0.10 per ml of fluid which has since risen to €0.11. Cross-border sales of e-cigarette fluid are banned and heated tobacco is taxed at 383.78 RON/kg, equating to €87 per kilogram.
Advertising of spirits is banned on television before 10 pm and on billboards, but beer and wine can be advertised at any time. There is no national closing time for drinking establishments and no ban on happy hours.
Romania currently scores a perfect zero for the over-regulation of food and soft drinks, but that will change by the time the next edition of the index is published. Once introduced, Romania’s soft drink taxes will be levied at 0.8 RON (€0.16) for drinks with 5-8mg/100ml of sugar and 1.0 RON (€0.20) for drinks with more than 8g/100ml of sugar.
With thanks to Dino Landa
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
Download Publication
Previous version: 2019
Categories
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).
Romania 2021
Romania comes sixteenth in this year’s index, but is likely to rise in the future. A soft drinks tax has been tabled and new anti-smoking legislation is on the cards, but nothing has come of this at the time of writing. A bill drawn up in 2020 proposed a retail display ban for tobacco, extending the smoking ban to e-cigarette use, banning all e-cigarette advertising, banning smoking in cars if children are present, and prohibiting the small amount of tobacco advertising that is still permitted.
Romania has no wine duty. Although its taxes on spirits and beer seem low in cash terms, they are significantly more punitive once adjusted for income. Tobacco duty is the highest of any country in the index after adjusting for income and its tax on heated tobacco is not far behind.
Since March 2016, Romania has had one of Europe’s toughest bans on smoking in workplaces, including all bars and restaurants. Only airports and prisons are exempt. After protests from the public, parliament looked at amending the ban to provide designated smoking sections but this was rejected.
Vaping is not included in Romania’s smoking ban, but it is banned on public transport. E-cigarettes are legal to buy, but 2016 saw the introduction of an e-cigarette tax of €0.10 per ml of fluid which has since risen to €0.11. Cross-border sales of e-cigarette fluid are banned and heated tobacco is taxed at 383.78 RON/kg, equating to €87 per kilogram.
Advertising of spirits is banned on television before 10 pm and on billboards, but beer and wine can be advertised at any time. There is no national closing time for drinking establishments and no ban on happy hours.
Romania currently scores a perfect zero for the over-regulation of food and soft drinks, but that will change by the time the next edition of the index is published. Once introduced, Romania’s soft drink taxes will be levied at 0.8 RON (€0.16) for drinks with 5-8mg/100ml of sugar and 1.0 RON (€0.20) for drinks with more than 8g/100ml of sugar.
With thanks to Dino Landa
Partners
