Italy’s AGCM competition authority said Wednesday it had fined Philip Morris Italia seven million euros ($8.1 million) for misleading consumers — including minors — over the dangers its products pose to health.
“The advertisements mislead consumers into believing the products are harmless to health or less harmful compared to other tobacco products,” it said in a statement.
AGCM launched an investigation into Philip Morris Italia after a complaint from the Ministry of Health, it said.
The Authority said it found “the expressions and claims ‘smoke-free’, ‘smoke-free products’ and ‘building/planning/accelerating a smoke-free future’, used as part of a wider marketing strategy for its combustion-free tobacco products, mislead consumers — including minors”.
Consumers were lead to believe that the products “are harmless to health and/or less harmful than other tobacco products, particularly traditional cigarettes”, it said.
It stressed that “evidence gathered during the inspections and investigation actually indicates that current scientific and clinical knowledge does not support the claim that these products are less harmful or harmless, not least because of the presence of nicotine”.
Philip Morris Italia did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
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