Executive Summary

A recent nationally representative survey of British adults, commissioned by Adam Smith Insights, reveals a broad public consensus in favour of reduced government intervention in personal and economic life.

Key findings indicate that an overwhelming majority of the public trusts themselves, rather than the government, to make responsible decisions regarding their safety, lifestyle, and finances. Furthermore, strong support exists for policies that enable small businesses to operate with minimal regulation. This sentiment is largely consistent across the political spectrum, suggesting a deep-seated public desire for greater personal autonomy and less "nanny state" oversight.

Generational Smoking Ban Prioritization

While the proposed Generational Smoking Ban has received significant policy attention, 51% of the public view it as a lower-priority issue compared to immediate concerns such as the economy and the rising cost of living.

Advertising Regulation

  • A two-thirds majority of adults (66%) believe that nicotine advertisements should be permitted in adult-only environments, either freely or under strict regulation.

  • The vast majority (82%) also disagreed with Transport for London’s decision to ban adverts for a wedding cake and a hot dog, which were prohibited due to concerns about promoting "unhealthy foods."

Personal Safety and Lifestyle Autonomy

The results show a clear preference for individual responsibility over government paternalism across core aspects of personal life.

Trust in Personal Safety Judgments

An overwhelming 77% of those polled stated they trust themselves—not the government—to make judgments about what is safe for them. This level of trust is high across all major political groups:

  • 84% of Conservative and Reform voters agree.

  • 7 in 10 (70%) of Labour voters agree.

Government Control over Lifestyle

Brits broadly reject increasing government control over personal lifestyle choices. When asked about the extent to which the government should control their personal lives, the percentages believing the government should have little or no control are:

  • Reform voters: 78%

  • Conservative voters: 63%

  • Labour voters: 50%

Financial Autonomy and Trust

The public exhibits exceptionally high confidence in its own ability to manage finances, strongly rejecting government overreach in this area.

  • 92% of voters agree they should be trusted with their own money, with 55% strongly agreeing.

  • This belief holds steady across parties: 95% of Conservative and Reform voters agree, as do 89% of Labour voters.

These findings correlate with the broader economic context, where increased taxation has led to the latest recorded Tax Freedom Day since records began, with future tax burdens projected to potentially exceed 50% of the Net National Income by 2030.

Government and Small Businesses

There is a clear and bipartisan mandate for government policies that support and minimize disruption to small businesses.

  • Prioritizing Small Businesses: A vast majority (90%) agrees that it is important for the government to prioritize policies that support small businesses. This is consistent across party lines (Labour: 89%, Reform: 91%, Conservative: 93%).

  • Minimal Intervention: 81% of the public think it is important for the government to let small businesses operate with minimal intervention. This is supported by over three-quarters of Labour voters and even higher numbers of Conservative (88%) and Reform (84%) voters.

Conclusion and Policy Implications

The data strongly suggests a public fatigue with increasing government intrusion, exemplified by recent policies such as the generational smoking ban, the disposable vapes ban, and new regulations on sectors like Adult Gaming Centres.

The high level of self-trust in personal safety, lifestyle, and financial decisions, coupled with the desire for minimal business intervention, indicates a widespread call for a policy shift. Policymakers are encouraged to reconsider punitive bans and excessive regulation, instead prioritising lower tax burdens and greater trust in the public and small business community to make responsible choices.

Methodology:

  • Adam Smith Insights polled a nationally representative sample of adults in Great Britain for British American Tobacco. 

  • With fieldwork dates of 12th to 20th September 2025, the poll has a sample size of 2,065 GB adults. 

  • The sample was collected using online panels. 

  • Poll is weighted to population targets to match GB adult population profile across age, gender, region, ethnicity, and 2024 general election vote.

  •  Population targets were based on ONS 2021 UK Census data, age-by-vote distributions derived from Ipsos’s post-election analysis: “How Britain voted in the 2024 election”, national vote share data from the Electoral Reform Society’s 2024 general election results, and YouGov/BES polling. 

  • Respondents were filtered for completion quality (e.g., speeding), and responses with incomplete or invalid data were excluded from analysis.

  • No imputation was applied. 

  • The poll, with a median completion time of approximately 5.6 minutes, has a margin of error of ±2.2%

Adam Smith Insights is a new type of data and polling organisation, with a special focus on economics and policy change. Through analysis of public sentiment, we reshape what is politically possible. We help construct reforms which will be more popular and successful, while exposing the failings of our current system. Through a range of quantitative and qualitative methods, we equip policy makers with the right insights to shift the agenda and change reality. We operate globally, with data and analysis covering all regions.