Traditionally a good performer in the Nanny State Index, Slovakia has leapt up the table since 2023. In August 2022, it allowed spirits to be advertised on television after 8pm (the previous watershed was 10pm), but this sliver of liberalisation could not outweigh the introduction of a new tax on sugary drinks of €0.15 per litre which also applies to artificially sweetened drinks, and a new tax on energy drinks of €0.30 per litre. Slovakia also now has a vape tax of €2 per 10ml bottle and heated tobacco is heavily taxed at €211.30 per kilogram.

There is no duty on still wine in Slovakia, but sparkling wine is taxed at €0.80 per litre. Taxes on beer and spirits are not particularly high by European standards, but sharp hikes in tobacco duty in recent years have stung smokers and have left Slovakians with the fourth least affordable cigarettes of the 29 countries in the index.

The Slovakian smoking ban allows owners of bars and restaurants to accommodate smokers in separate sections. This is more liberal than most EU countries, although the ban also applies to vaping. Cigarettes cannot be bought from machines but there is no display ban or plain packaging.

Wine and beer adverts can be shown on television at any time of day and spirits adverts can be shown after 8pm. E-cigarette advertising and sponsorship are both banned, as are cross-border sales.

Since January 2019, Slovakians have been permitted to produce up to 25 litres of ethyl alcohol in their own home each year - enough to produce around 50 litres of spirits - so long as they use homegrown fruit and register with the government. These drinks cannot be sold to others.

With thanks to Radovan Durana, Institute of Economic and Social Studies