I think nudges are supposed to be subtle enough that you don't notice them.
And probably for every not so subtle manipulation we notice there are 5 we don't notice.
What led me to quit wasn't any 'nudging' by the government but simply that vaping is a lot more convenient than smoking and lacked the finger-wagging inherent in other nicotine replacement approaches, and once I was only vaping I could turn down the nicotine over the course of six months or so to spare the worst of the grimness of quitting.