Johnson & Johnson will pay $700 million to settle a lawsuit by dozens of states that accused the pharmaceutical industry giant of intentionally misleading customers about the safety of its talc-based baby powder, officials announced Tuesday.
J&J sold products with talc for more than 100 years before discontinuing them globally in 2023 after facing thousands of lawsuits. The coalition of 43 attorneys general found Johnson & Johnson failed to disclose that the talc sometimes contained asbestos, and that asbestos is harmful and can lead to cancer.
Johnson & Johnson baby powder is now largely made from corn starch rather than talc. The company did not admit guilt as part of the settlement.
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