(Adds BAT statement)
ROME, May 31 (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust regulator said on
Monday it had launched a probe into the Italian unit of British
America Tobacco (BAT) over alleged covert advertising
of its tobacco heating product Glo Hyper on social media.
The watchdog said in a statement that three influencers who
had commercial agreements with BAT invited their followers on
Instagram to publish content linked to Glo Hyper, without
specifying it was advertising.
It added that the Italian tax police had carried out
inspections of BAT offices on May 27.
BAT Italia said in a statement that it was convinced it had
acted in a correct manner and was confident the outcome of the
probe would demonstrate this.
"(What happened) is a new situation, which does not fall
under the authority's guidelines, where over-age followers are
encouraged to post photos of their life passions, tagging Glo,"
the statement added.
BAT also said it would continue cooperating with the Italian
regulator and provide any information requested.
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti; Additional reporting by Elvira
Pollina; Editing by Cristina Carlevaro and Jan Harvey)
British American Tobacco (BATS)