The pharmaceutical giant’s payment resolves allegations that it misled consumers about the safety of its talc-based powder products.
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $700 million to settle lawsuits in the United States that accused the pharmaceutical giant of misleading customers about the safety of its talc-based powder products.
J&J’s payment resolves an investigation by more than 40 U.S. states into the marketing of baby powder and other talc-based products that contained traces of cancer-causing asbestos.
“Targeting communities with cosmetic products that contain dangerous substances is not only illegal, it is very cruel,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Tuesday.
“No amount of money can undo the pain caused by Johnson & Johnson talc products, but today families can rest assured that the company is being held accountable for the harm it has caused and that its dangerous products will no longer be on shelves.” from New York. York. Those who attack our communities, harm their health and violate our laws will be met with the full force of my office.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based multinational will permanently suspend the manufacture, marketing and sale of all body products containing talcum powder.
J&J, which removed its talc-based powders from North American shelves in 2020 and suspended their sale globally last year, did not admit wrongdoing and stated that its products do not cause cancer.
The settlement does not resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits filed by consumers who allege that its products caused them cancer.
Last month, the company said it would move forward with a $6.475 billion settlement to resolve 99.75% of pending U.S. lawsuits.
Investigations by The New York Times and Reuters found that J&J executives for decades hid concerns that its baby powder products might contain asbestos.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2020 did not find a statistical link between powder use in the genital area and ovarian cancer in women.
However, researchers cautioned that the study, which involved data from 250,000 women in the US, may not have been large enough to detect a potential small increase in risk.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
