A California woman has filed a class action false advertising lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and other manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) cold medicines, claiming that the companies have falsely marketed the products for years as effective treatments for cold congestion even though the active ingredient in these products has been determined to be ineffective by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Plaintiff Jennifer Baughman filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Johnson & Johnson, Consumer Inc., Kenvue Inc., Procter & Gamble, and Reckitt Benckiser LLC, citing false and misleading advertising, unfair business practices, violations of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, unjust enrichment, breach of implied warranty, violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, violations of consumer fraud laws, and negligent misrepresentation.
Baughman states that she purchased numerous Johnson & Johnson over-the-counter drug products, including Sudafed PE, Vick's Dayquil, Vick's Nyquil Severe Cold & Flu and Mucinex Sinus Max, for relief from congestion related to a cold. She claims that despite being marketed and advertised as decongestant products, they were not an effective remedy for congestion.
According to the lawsuit, the primary active ingredient in Johnson & Johnson products is phenylephrine hydrochloride (PE), and the lawsuit claims that "no support has been found in the literature in the public domain for the efficacy of PE as a nasal decongestant when administered orally.”
The lawsuit states that another ingredient found in OTC cold and cough medicines is pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (PDE), which has been proven effective. This primary ingredient is not found in Johnson & Johnson products. According to the lawsuit, PDE is also an ingredient in the production of illegal methamphetamine. As a result, the sale of medications containing PDE has been limited to behind-the-counter, and individuals are limited to how much they can purchase each month and must present identification to purchase products containing PDE.
The lawsuit adds that while the FDA has designated PE as "generally recognized as safe and effective," in 2007, the FDA issued a report detailing the ineffectiveness of oral PE as an active ingredient in cold products. On Sept. 11, 2023, the FDA revisited this study and concluded that scientific data does not support the designation of PE as an ingredient in cough and cold medicines.
Baughman claims that, as a result of these studies, the defendants should have known that their claims that their PE OTC products were effective treatments for decongestion were misleading and false.
Baughman is demanding a jury trial to seek damages for herself and everyone in her proposed class action lawsuit, plus court costs, attorney fees, and any other relief the court deems proper. She is represented in this case by attorneys Marcus Bradley, Kiley Grombacher and Lirit King of Bradley/Grombacher LLP in Westlake Village.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 2:13-CV-7737