Ukrainian Antitrust Agency Sues Philip Morris over Misleading Claims

The Ukrainian Antimonopoly Committee (AMCU) has recently filed a lawsuit against international tobacco giant Philip Morris International, accusing them of promoting unverified health risk information about their IQOS heated tobacco product.

The company has been accused of disseminating misleading information regarding the use of IQOS products, claiming they pose lower health risks compared to traditional cigarettes. This violation allegedly violates Article 151 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law.

The AMCU case involves a consumer who used HEETS tobacco products manufactured by Philip Morris International for their IQOS product between 2018 and 2021. The consumer believed these products were a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, but found no conclusive evidence to support this claim.

The committee stated that Phillip Morris did not provide them with documents to prove the validity of their statements made in Ukraine, including "completely switching to IQOS poses less risk to your health compared to continued smoking" and "IQOS emissions contain 95% less harmful chemicals than cigarettes.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) believes that disseminating these claims without appropriate verification constitutes a violation of unfair competition laws by spreading misleading information.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Health has stated that international studies show that any tobacco heating product poses a danger and does not reduce the risk of smoking.