ROME, June 10 (Reuters) - Italy's competition authority on

Wednesday slapped a€7 million ($8.1 million) fine on Philip

Morris' ( PM ) Italian unit over allegedly misleading marketing for

non-combustion tobacco products.

It said it had conducted a "complex investigation prompted

by a complaint from the Ministry of Health" into the way Philip

Morris Italia promoted increasingly popular combustion-free

products, such as heated tobacco or e-vapor devices.

"Expressions and claims such as 'smoke-free', 'smoke-free

products' and 'building/planning/accelerating a smoke-free

future' (...) mislead consumers - including minors - into

believing that the products are harmless to health and/or less

harmful than other tobacco products, particularly traditional

cigarettes," the authority said.

"The evidence gathered (...) 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," the regulator added.

Philip Morris Italia did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

When the Italian probe was launched in October 2025, the

company said its communication was "factual, truthful, and fully

consistent with Italian and European legislation, which

associates the absence of smoke with the absence of combustion."

($1 = 0.8648 euros)