File photo by Dan Peled/EPA
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 15, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) – Utah will receive $7.5 million as part of a nationwide settlement with Johnson & Johnson that resolves allegations related to the company’s baby and body powders. corporation that contained talc.
Utah joined 42 other states in reaching a $700 million settlement with the corporation, according to a Thursday news release from the Utah Department of Commerce’s Consumer Protection Division.
“Johnson & Johnson has sold these types of products for over a hundred years,” the statement reads. “After the coalition of states began investigating, the company stopped distributing and selling these products in the United States and, most recently, ended global sales.
“While this settlement agreement targets deceptive marketing of these products, numerous other lawsuits filed by private plaintiffs in class actions raised allegations that talc causes serious health problems, including mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.”
Under the agreement, Utah will receive $7,540,013 over four years, for approximately $1.88 million each year.
“Our collaboration with the Utah Attorney General’s Office and other states, as well as our relentless pursuit of justice for Utah consumers, has borne significant fruit today,” said Commerce Executive Director Margaret Busse.
“We are proud to be part of this national effort to hold businesses accountable and look forward to seeing the positive impact these funds will have on protecting the health and safety of consumers in Utah.”
“For more than a century, parents trusted that the fine white talcum powder found in stores across America labeled Johnson & Johnson was beneficial to their newborns and their families,” said Attorney General Sean D. . Kings.
“It is outrageous that the company deceptively advertises purity while knowing that these household products contain harmful substances that can cause serious health problems, including cancer.”
Under the Settlement Agreement, according to the press release, Johnson & Johnson:
— Has ceased and has not resumed the manufacturing, marketing, promotion, sale and distribution of all baby and body powder products and cosmetic powder products containing talc, including, but not limited to, Johnson’s Baby Powder and Johnson & Johnson’s Shower to Shower. (“Covered Products”) in the United States.
— Permanently stop manufacturing of any Covered Product in the United States, either directly or indirectly through a third party.
— Permanently stop the marketing and promotion of any Covered Product in the United States, either directly or indirectly through a third party.
— Permanently stop the sale or distribution of any Covered Product in the United States, whether directly or indirectly through a third party.
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