Italian antitrust regulator investigates Philip Morris Italia over its smoke-free products

The Italian Competition Authority announced on October 15, 2025, the opening of an investigation into Philip Morris Italia, a subsidiary of the American cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, for possible misleading and unfair commercial practices regarding the promotion of its smoke-free nicotine products.[1].

Investigation opened against Philip Morris Italia for alleged deceptive commercial practices

According to the regulator, the subsidiary allegedly used expressions such as "smoke-free" or slogans like "a smoke-free future", likely to mislead consumers. The Authority points out that these formulations can be confusing, because the products concerned, although they do not rely on combustion, are not without potential harmful effects on health. Some, moreover, are no less harmful than combustible tobacco products and all can cause addiction.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations health agency, manufacturers are promoting their new nicotine products as reduced risk compared to combustible cigarettes and are aggressively targeting young people, who are at high risk of becoming highly addicted to their products.[2]The WHO warned of a new wave at the beginning of October. alarming » of nicotine addiction linked in particular to the development of electronic cigarettes. Thus, at least 15 million children between 13 and 15 years old worldwide now use itAll of these new products are being marketed by manufacturers to stem the decline in their sales of combustible tobacco products.

As part of this investigation in Italy, competition authorities, accompanied by financial police, conducted searches at Philip Morris's offices and a production facility in Bologna. The investigation aims to determine whether the company's business practices violated standards of business ethics in Italy.

Philip Morris Italia defends itself against false advertising

In a statement sent by email, Philip Morris Italia affirmed that it has always complied with the regulations in force. The company emphasizes that its communication is " factual, truthful and consistent " to Italian and European law, which associates the absence of smoke with that of combustion. The company also indicated that it would cooperate fully with the authority throughout the procedure in order to demonstrate the legitimacy of its practices.

Smoke-free products, such as heated tobacco, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, represent a growing share of Philip Morris' revenue, or 41,% in the second quarter of 2025.

The group explains that its global objective for the past ten years has been to build " a smoke-free future ", a commitment shared by its Italian subsidiaries and their supply chain, which represents around 44,000 people in the country.

This isn't the first time Philip Morris has been in the crosshairs of the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM): the company has already been fined several times for misleading marketing practices related to the promotion of its heated tobacco products, including IQOS. In December 2018, the AGCM fined Philip Morris Italia €500,000 for disguised advertising for the IQOS device. The company had published promotional articles in several magazines without mentioning their advertising nature, in violation of transparency and consumer protection rules.[3].

The same promotional strategy is deployed in different countries around the world. In France, the lower court judges considered that the broadcast of a report dedicated to IQOS, " by promoting a tobacco product to a wide audience (..), while also emphasizing its reduced harmfulness to consumers through a presentation emphasizing in particular the scientific and innovative nature of the product ", constitutes an attack on the objective of protecting public health in the fight against smoking (CNCT v. NEXTINTERACTIVE). The IQOS cases involving Philip Morris in France are pending and have not yet resulted in a final conviction of the manufacturer, who remains presumed innocent.

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[1]Global Banking & Finance, Italy's antitrust regulator probes Philip Morris Italia over smoke-free products, published October 15, 2025, accessed October 16, 2025

[2]ATS, AWP, AFP, Tobacco. Philip Morris: Investigation in Italy into smokeless cigarettes, La Liberté, published October 15, 2025, consulted October 16, 2025

[3]Swiss Association for the Prevention of Smoking, Italy opens investigation into Philip Morris's marketing of its "smoke-free" products, published October 16, 2025, accessed October 17, 2025

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