Italian watchdog fines BAT and Amazon over misleading advertising
economictimes.indiatimes.comAGCM competition watchdog has fined British American Tobacco (BAT) and Amazon a combined 7 million euros ($7.5 million) over misleading advertising for heated tobacco products.
BAT was fined 6 million euros and Amazon 1 million euros for failing to provide sufficient information to consumers about the nicotine content and corresponding health risks from use of the Glo Hyper X2 and Glo Hyper Air products, AGCM's statement said.
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIIT DelhiIITD Certificate Programme in Data Science & Machine LearningVisitIIM KozhikodeIIMK Advanced Data Science For ManagersVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Product ManagementVisit Street and online advertising presented the products as «simple electronic devices» and «design objects», the regulator said.
«This is seriously misleading conduct that leads consumers to purchase a product that poses health risks and is prohibited for minors,» it said.
Amazon strongly disagrees with the regulator's decision and plans to appeal against the fine, a company spokesperson said.
«The description of our products includes references to age restrictions and health-related risks,» the spokesperson said.
«We have worked closely with the AGCM throughout this case and we've made this information even clearer for customers to address the authority's concerns.»
The BAT press office did not respond immediately to an emailed request for comment.
BAT's Glo device, which is sold on Amazon's online platform, does not itself
