Italian regulators target Philip Morris for unclear health claims

The Antitrust Authority has launched an investigation against Philip Morris Italy for a possible unfair commercial practice in promoting products using expressions such as "smoke-free", "a smoke-free future" and/or "smoke-free products".

According to the Authority, these expressions could be unclear and misleading for consumers because they refer to products that, although they do not involve combustion, are not free from potential harmful effects on health, nor are they less harmful than others, and may cause addiction, CE Report quotes ANSA.

Yesterday, officials from the Authority, with the assistance of the Guardia di Finanza’s Special Antitrust Unit, carried out inspections at the headquarters of Philip Morris Italy and Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology Bologna.