PMI Loses Case: Italian Court Bans Online Distribution of Illegal Promotional Information

The Rome court accepted the collective injunction request from the Italian Consumers' Association Codici against PMI Italy regarding e-cigarettes. The court's ruling indicates that the commercial information related to the sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquid by PMI Italy is illegal and prohibits illegal commercial promotion.

Recently, according to a report by sardegnareporter on October 26, the Rome court accepted the collective injunction request from the Italian Consumers' Association Codici against PMI Italy regarding e-cigarettes. The court's ruling indicates that the commercial information related to the sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquid by PMI Italy is illegal and prohibits illegal commercial promotion. 

Ivano Giacomelli, the Secretary-General of Codici, stated that they requested Philip Morris Italy to remove a series of commercial promotional information related to Veev e-cigarette devices and associated pods charging devices. 

These two products are marketed as safer than traditional tobacco products, emphasizing their flavors and aromas, and linking their use to an enhancement of consumer social status and environmental sustainability. Once on the PMI Italy product website, consumers are immediately encouraged to purchase e-cigarettes and tobacco e-liquids, with discount offers provided. This commercial and advertising information is also disseminated through major social networks and communication channels, especially Facebook and Instagram. 

After reviewing the evidence, the Rome court confirmed that the commercial information regarding the sale of these PMI products is illegal and prohibited the use of such illegal commercial promotions, especially those promotional activities that explicitly use terms like "discount" or "promotion." 

At the same time, the court also determined that the so-called price information is also prohibited, as it is actually used to promote sales and show consumers the immediate economic benefits of purchasing these devices. The Rome court immediately prohibited PMI Italy from publishing illegal commercial information on its website and social channels and ordered the company to remove this information. 

Codici expressed satisfaction with this ruling and will continue to monitor the e-cigarette industry to protect consumers from vague or potentially misleading commercial information.