Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Leads Mul­ti­state Coali­tion Reach­ing Land­mark $700 Mil­lion Set­tle­ment Against John­son & John­son Over Mis­lead­ing Safe­ty Claims Regard­ing Its Talc-Based Baby Powder

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 42 other attorneys general reached a $700 million nationwide settlement to resolve allegations related to the marketing of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and body powder products that contained talc. Texas, Florida, and North Carolina led an executive committee that included Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Maryland, New York, and Washington.

The consent judgment filed in this lawsuit addresses allegations that Johnson & Johnson deceptively promoted and misled consumers in advertisements related to the safety and purity of some of its talc powder products. As part of the lawsuit, Johnson & Johnson has agreed to stop the manufacture and sale of its baby powder and body powder products that contain talc in the United States. 

Johnson & Johnson sold such products for over a hundred years. After the coalition of states began investigating, the company stopped distributing and selling these products in the United States and more recently ended global sales. While this lawsuit targeted the deceptive marketing of these products, numerous other lawsuits filed by private plaintiffs in class actions raised allegations that talc causes serious health issues including mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. 

Under the consent judgment, Johnson & Johnson:

• 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 Johnson & Johnson’s Shower to Shower (“Covered Products”) in the United States.
• Shall permanently stop the manufacture of any Covered Products in the United States either directly, or indirectly through any third party.
• Shall permanently stop the marketing and promotion of any Covered Products in the United States either directly, or indirectly through any third party.
• Shall permanently stop the sale or distribution any Covered Products in the United States either directly, or indirectly through any third party.

“We have reached a landmark settlement with Johnson & Johnson ensuring that the company will abide by the law and take effective steps to protect consumers from potentially hazardous ingredients,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I’m proud to lead this coalition of 43 attorneys general to stand up for consumers’ health and truth in marketing.” 

As part of the settlement, Texas will receive $61,576,401.23. This settlement is pending judicial approval.

Texas, Florida, and North Carolina led the multistate settlement, with 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 Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin joining.

To read the settlement, click here.