Today (October 15), the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), accompanied by financial police, searched two Philip Morris offices in Italy as part of the inquiry regarding the company’s use of phrases such as “a smoke-free future” and “smoke-free products” regarding its electronic cigarettes.
In response, a PMI spokesperson told Tobacco Reporter:
“With reference to the proceeding initiated yesterday by the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) concerning the use of the term “smoke-free” in communications related to our corporate vision and our combustion-free products, Philip Morris Italia believes it has always acted in full compliance with applicable regulations. The Company is confident that its communication is factual, truthful, and fully consistent with both Italian and European legislation, which associate the absence of smoke with the absence of combustion. Italian Legislative Decree No. 6/2016, which transposes EU Directive 2014/40/EU, defines in Article 2, paragraph 5, a “smoke-free tobacco product” (“smokeless tobacco product” in the English version of the Directive) as “a tobacco product that does not involve a combustion process”.
“The pursuit of a smoke-free future has been the primary global objective of Philip Morris International for nearly a decade—an ambition that the Italian affiliates have been working toward for years, alongside an integrated Made in Italy value chain involving 44,000 people.
“The Company will continue to cooperate with the Authority throughout the proceeding to demonstrate the full legitimacy of its actions.”
