Attorney General Tim Griffin made the announcement on Tuesday that Arkansas will receive more than $12.7 million as part of a countrywide settlement with Johnson & Johnson that is worth $700 million. The settlement was established in response to allegations that the business engaged in misleading marketing of baby powder and other products that contained levels of asbestos.
“Deceptively promoted and misled consumers about the safety and purity of its talc-based powder products that had been sold by the company for over a hundred years,” the announcement adds. “The company had been producing and selling these products for more than a century.”
The case was filed by the attorneys general of the states of Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, which totaled 42 states. According to the news release, Johnson & Johnson reached an agreement in the settlement to permanently discontinue “the manufacturing, marketing, promotion, sale, and distribution of all baby and body powder products and cosmetic powder products that contain talcum powder.” This agreement was made by the corporation or by a third party.
Under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which can result in fines of up to $10,000 for each violation, Johnson & Johnson was found to be in violation of the law in Arkansas, which established their liability.
According to the complaint that Griffin filed in the lawsuit, the company’s advertising encouraged women and girls to use talc-based powder products “to mask and avoid” a variety of body smells, including “in more places than just under your arms.” This advertising purposefully encouraged the use of such items on female genitalia, and Johnson & Johnson has been aware of research that has shown that women who use talcum powder on their genitals are at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer since the 1980s as per arkansasadvocate.com
This was not Johnson & Johnson’s first lawsuit alleging that they engaged in misleading marketing. In the year 2020, the corporation was confronted with a judgment of $344 million after the state of California filed a lawsuit against it for selling pelvic mesh devices. These devices are surgical implants that are intended to solve women’s pelvic health issues. Johnson & Johnson was unsuccessful in their appeal of the verdict in the year 2023.