Texas will receive $61.5 million in baby powder settlement

Texas will receive $61.5 million as part of a $700 million nationwide settlement against Johnson & Johnson over baby powder safety claims, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday.

The settlement resolves allegations by Paxton and 42 other attorneys general that the pharmaceutical giant intentionally misled customers about the safety and purity of baby powders and baby powders containing talc. As part of the settlement, Johnson & Johnson also agreed to stop producing and selling these products in the US

The company sold talcum powder for more than 100 years, but stopped doing so in the U.S. and around the world in 2023 after a coalition of 42 states and Washington launched an investigation. The coalition said the company failed to disclose that talc contained asbestos and that asbestos is harmful and can lead to cancer.

More:The lawsuit alleges that Johnson & Johnson marketed baby powder to black women over cancer concerns

Johnson & Johnson baby powder is currently made primarily from cornstarch, not talc. As part of the settlement, the company did not admit guilt.

The attorneys general of Texas, Florida and North Carolina have been handling multistate litigation that still awaits court approval of the settlement. The settlement was announced in January.

“We have reached a landmark agreement with Johnson & Johnson ensuring the company will comply with the law and take effective steps to protect consumers from potentially dangerous ingredients,” Paxton said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “I am proud to lead a coalition of 43 attorneys general that defends consumer health and truth in marketing.”

Joining the talc lawsuit are 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.

“This is a major advance in consumer product safety,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement Tuesday.

Johnson & Johnson continues to face tens of thousands of individual lawsuits alleging that talc-containing products have caused consumers to develop ovarian cancer, mesothelioma and other serious health problems, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

There is also a class action lawsuit pending, accusing the company of concealing the risks associated with talc products from its shareholders.

Johnson & Johnson has made several attempts to resolve the matters, Reuters reports, by bankrupting a subsidiary it created to control its talc liabilities, with as much as $11 billion of the company set aside for potential payments, but courts have not agreed. these efforts.

“The company continues to pursue several paths to achieve a comprehensive and final resolution of the talc dispute,” Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s vice president of global litigation, wrote in an emailed statement Tuesday. “We will continue to address claims from individuals who do not wish to participate in our contemplated bankruptcy settlement through litigation or settlement.”