“In advertising IQOS, consumers were misled and information about the company’s tobacco products was disseminated this way,” Jurgis Kazlauskas, head of the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Division at the Lithuania’s Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department, which imposed the fine, told BNS on Wednesday.
“That device is intended for the sole purpose of using tobacco products manufactured and distributed by the company in Lithuania. It is not suitable or adapted for anything else,” he added.
Kęstutis Straigis, head of corporate affairs for Lithuania at Philip Morris Baltic, told BNS the company’s lawyers were analyzing the authority’s decision.
“We are considering appealing because we disagree with the department’s conclusion. We believe that we acted in a fair manner and complied with legislation,” he said.
IQOS is part of Philip Morris’s 3-billion-US-dollar investment in new-generation smoking devices. It is used to heat tobacco to a temperature high enough to create vapor but not smoke. The company says that it is a novel device that differs from other electronic cigarettes that are often already subject to specific regulations.