The Italian Competition Authority has opened an investigation into Philip Morris Italia for possible unfair commercial practices in promoting products using phrases such as "smoke-free," "a smoke-free future," and/or "smoke-free products."

A press release announced this, explaining that these terms may be unclear and misleading for consumers because they refer to products that, despite not being combustible, are not free from potential harmful effects on health, nor are they less harmful than others and can create addictions.

Yesterday, officials from the Authority, with the assistance of the Special Antitrust Unit of the Guardia di Finanza, carried out inspections at the offices of Philip Morris Italia SpA and Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology Bologna.

The company's response

Philip Morris Italia believes it has always acted in compliance with current regulations and is convinced that its communications are factual, truthful, and fully consistent with Italian and European regulations, which equate the absence of smoke with the absence of combustion. The company stated in a statement, which specifies: "Legislative Decree 6/2016, which implemented European Directive 2014/40/EU in Italy, defines a "smokeless tobacco product" (a "smokeless tobacco product" in the English version of the directive) as "a tobacco product that does not involve a combustion process."

Furthermore, "achieving a smoke-free future has been Philip Morris International's primary global goal for about ten years, a goal that its Italian affiliates have been working toward for years, alongside an integrated Made in Italy supply chain that employs 44,000 people."

In this context, the company "will continue to collaborate with the Authority throughout the proceedings to ensure the full legitimacy of its actions."

(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)

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