Mercer Times

TRENTON – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs, along with 42 other Attorneys General, announced a $700 million nationwide settlement with Johnson & Johnson to resolve allegations related to the marketing of talc-based baby powder and body powder products. New Jersey will receive just over $30.2 million as part of this settlement.

The states allege that for decades, the company deceptively marketed these products to women and teenage girls as safe, pure, and gentle for daily use, including around the genital area. This was despite studies indicating that Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder were sometimes tainted with carcinogenic asbestos and increased the risk of ovarian cancer in women who used them in the genital area compared to those who did not.

The lawsuits filed by the states were settled with simultaneous consent judgments. As part of these settlements, Johnson & Johnson is prohibited from promoting, manufacturing, selling, and distributing talc powder products in the United States. The lawsuit details how since the 1950s, Johnson & Johnson was aware of potential asbestos contamination in its products. While other manufacturers began placing warning labels on their talc-based products and eventually switched to cornstarch, Johnson & Johnson continued its marketing practices unchanged and targeted African American and Latina women in its campaigns to reverse declining sales.

“These deceptive promotions and misleading advertisements are violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act,” said Attorney General Platkin. “The company blatantly promoted the products as safe and pure while possessing internal information about a carcinogen and ignoring mounting external evidence about possible health effects,” he added. “I am gratified that we achieved this settlement for many consumers injured by Johnson & Johnson’s actions.”

“New Jersey has robust laws to protect consumers from fraud and deceit in the marketplace. Johnson & Johnson violated those laws with its deceptive marketing efforts that concealed serious health risks associated with its talc-based powders,” said Cari Fais, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “Today’s settlement holds Johnson & Johnson responsible for its campaign of deception.”

Johnson & Johnson did not stop U.S. sales of its Baby Powder until May 2020 after the Food and Drug Administration discovered asbestos in a bottle of the powder. More recently, it ended global sales of talc-based powder.

While this lawsuit focused on deceptive marketing practices, numerous other lawsuits filed by private plaintiffs have raised allegations that talc causes serious health issues such as mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. Today’s settlement is pending judicial approval in Mercer County's Chancery Division Superior Court but is unrelated to these other lawsuits.

Under the consent judgment, Johnson & Johnson agreed to:

- Cease manufacturing, marketing, promotion, sale, or distribution of all baby/body powder products containing talcum powder in the United States.

- Permanently stop manufacturing these products either directly or indirectly through any third party.

- Permanently end their marketing/promotion either directly or indirectly through any third party.

- Permanently stop their sale/distribution either directly or indirectly through any third party.

Texas, Florida, North Carolina led this multistate settlement joined by Alabama; Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; District of Columbia; Georgia; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Montana; Nebraska; Nevada; New Hampshire: New York: North Dakota: Ohio: Oklahoma: Oregon: Rhode Island: South Dakota: Utah: Vermont: Virginia: Washington: West Virginia: Wisconsin.

Deputy Attorney General Cathleen O’Donnell and Deputy Attorney General/Section Chief Jesse J. Sierant represented New Jersey in this matter within the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group.

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