Indiana is set to receive $18 million as part of a settlement Attorney General Todd Rokita reached with pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. The payout aims to resolve allegations of deceptive advertising in the company’s marketing of baby powder and body powder products that contain the mineral talc.
“Hoosiers have the right to expect honesty from businesses, particularly those making money at the potential expense of people’s health -- and the law requires exactly that,” Attorney General Rokita said. “We all want to see companies thrive and prosper, but our office will never hesitate to hold them accountable when it comes to protecting our state’s consumers. This settlement once again shows our resolve to make sure even multinational corporations are kept in check.”
Working with 42 of his peers from other states and the District of Columbia, Attorney General Rokita helped forge a $700 million nationwide settlement.
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.
Under the consent judgment, Johnson & Johnson has agreed to permanently cease the manufacturing, marketing, promotion, sale, and distribution of all baby and body powder products and cosmetic powder products that contain talcum powder — either directly or indirectly through any third party.
Johnson & Johnson sold such products for over 100 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.
The settlement, which is pending judicial approval, is attached.
A headshot of Attorney General Rokita is available for download.