ITALIAN Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has accidentally revealed she has quit smoking again in a hot mic blunder at the G7 summit.
The 49-year-old leader said she had kicked the habit once before, but lit up again following her election in 2022.
Sign up for The Jattvibe newsletter
Thank you!
Meloni revealed in her book that she had picked up smoking again after she was elected to office Credit: Getty
She was caught on hot mic at the G7 summit revealing she had been struggling to stay awake after putting the cigarettes down for the second time Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Meloni met with other world leaders on Monday in the French Alpine resort Evian-les-Bains, where she was caught on hot mic admitting she had been struggling to stay awake after butting out for the last time.
“I had to take three coffees,” she was heard saying, while waiting with other dignitaries on the arrival of President Donald Trump.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen followed up immediately, asking: “This morning? To wake up?”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked if she had had a smoke as well.
LA DOLCE DING-DONG
Trump now slams Italian PM in row with Pope after deleting AI Jesus pic
SHARIA CRACKDOWN
Italy may ban burka & virginity testing as PM battles ‘Islamic separatism’
This was the moment Meloni – the first woman to hold office in Italy – admitted to quitting.
“No, I stopped. One month ago,” she said and raised her hands in celebration.
Her fellow world leaders were heard gasping and congratulating her in the audio of the hot mics
Merz admitted he had also been a “big” smoker before kicking the habit.
Adding to the surprisingly pedestrian conversation, Canada‘s Prime Minister Mark Carney inquired about whether she was wearing a nicotine patch.
In her book, Meloni revealed that she had turned back to the vice after being elected to office, after being nicotine free for 13 years.
Other leaders also expressed their struggle with quitting the habit in the hot mic revelation Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Meloni had been in the French Alpine resort to meet with other world leaders earlier in the week on Monday Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
In the bombshell tell-all, she said the habit had helped her build relationships with other world leaders, including Tunisia‘s President Kais Saied.
Cigarettes quickly became a staple part of her image, as Italy’s first female leader.
Images snapped of her smoking quickly became comedic fodder.
Just last year during a joint summit, Turkey‘s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan jested that he would get her to stop smoking again.
“You look great. But I have to make you stop smoking,” he said at the Egyptian meeting in October.
Erdogan has previously vowed to make his own country smoke-free.
At the time, Meloni had joked back, saying: “I know, I know, [but] I don’t want to kill somebody”.
The interaction sparked laughter from both French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“It’s impossible,” said Macron.
Following the summit on Monday, Meloni met separately with Trump in an attempt to ease tensions between Washington and the Vatican.
The solo meet came after Trump slammed Pope Leo for being soft on crime.
Despite Meloni being the only leader in the European Union to attend President Trump’s second inauguration, she labelled his comments about the major religious leader “unacceptable”.
But the duo were able to smooth over their differences following a “clarification” meeting, focusing on “Western unity”, sources later revealed.
