'Excessive' regulation and 'sin taxes' make UK the worst place in the EU to be a wine drinker or smoker

The report ranks the UK as the bloc’s third most meddling country - below Finland and Sweden - when it comes to regulating citizens private lives

A report has concluded that Britain is the worst place in the EU to be a smoker and drink wine Getty

Nanny state laws make Britain the worst place in the European Union (EU) to be a wine drinker and a smoker, according to a report which ranks the UK as the bloc’s third most meddling country when it comes to regulating citizens private lives.

“Excessive” regulation and so called “sin taxes” mean that only Finland and Sweden are worse when it comes to intervening in lifestyle freedoms, the 2016 Nanny State Index found.

“The results make depressing reading for those of us who want the government to keep out of our private lives,” said Christopher Snow don, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) which published the report along with the European Policy Information Centre.