(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and 42 other attorneys general secured a $700 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson over allegations related to marketing of the company’s baby powder and body powder products containing talc. Ohio will receive $27.7 million as part of the settlement.
“Transparency is non-negotiable when it comes to consumer safety,” Yost said. “Selling harmful products without disclosing the risks is unacceptable and our legal action ensures companies are held accountable.”
The settlement, approved by a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge, addresses claims that Johnson & Johnson misled consumers about the safety of its talc powder products.
As part of the settlement, Johnson & Johnson has permanently stopped making, marketing, promoting, selling or distributing any talc-based baby and body powders in the United States, either directly or through any third party.
The agreement ends an investigation opened by the states in 2019 regarding whether Johnson & Johnson misrepresented the safety of their talc products, failed to disclose the presence of asbestos in the talc, and failed to inform consumers that asbestos in the talc could lead to cancer.
Johnson & Johnson has sold these products for more than a century. However, after the states started investigating, the company stopped distributing and selling these products in the U.S. and has since halted global sales. This lawsuit focused on deceptive marketing, while other private lawsuits have claimed that talc can cause mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and other serious health problems.
Texas, Florida and North Carolina led the lawsuit and were joined by Ohio, the District of Columbia and these states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
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