CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a bipartisan group of 43 attorneys general, today announced a nationwide settlement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to resolve allegations the company deceptively promoted and misled consumers in advertisements related to the safety and purity of some talcum powder products, including baby powder and body powder.
“Consumers rely on accurate information when making decisions about which products to purchase for their families,” Raoul said. “Any company – no matter how large – must be held accountable when laws protecting consumers are broken and their trust is violated. I will continue to work to ensure consumers are protected from false advertising, scams and dangerous products in the marketplace.”
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Johnson & Johnson ceased distributing and selling baby powder and body powder products that contained talc in the U.S. shortly after Raoul and the coalition of attorneys general began investigating. J&J also recently ended global sales of the affected products.
Under the consent judgment, J&J has ceased and not resumed the manufacturing, marketing, promotion, sale and distribution of all baby and body powder products and cosmetic powder products that contain talcum powder, including, but not limited to, Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower in the U.S.
As part of the settlement, Illinois will receive approximately $29 million pending court approval.
While the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Raoul and the coalition targeted the deceptive marketing of these products, numerous other pending lawsuits filed by private plaintiffs in class action lawsuits raise allegations that talc causes serious health issues, including mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.
The settlement was led by the attorneys general of Florida, North Carolina and Texas in coordination with an executive committee consisting of Raoul and the attorneys general of Arizona, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Washington. Joining the settlement are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
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