Gardiner Harris’s No More Tears reveals how Johnson & Johnson’s pursuit of profit, coupled with regulatory shortfalls, endangered consumers through contaminated products, aggressive marketing, and failed government protections.
Perri Klass reports for The Washington Post.
In short:
- Harris investigates how Johnson & Johnson's baby powder, tainted with asbestos, and its coronavirus vaccine with lower efficacy rates, reflect systemic failures in consumer protection.
- The book documents corporate practices like aggressive off-label marketing of drugs such as Risperdal, often ignoring scientific warnings about serious side effects.
- Harris criticizes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's regulatory failures and shows how whistleblowers, often drug sales reps, played a key role in exposing industry misconduct.
Key quote:
"The sad truth is that the FDA ignored, enabled, or encouraged every Johnson & Johnson disaster in this book."
— Gardiner Harris, author of No More Tears
Why this matters:
Corporate influence over healthcare products and the regulatory bodies meant to oversee them has long raised concerns about consumer safety. Johnson & Johnson’s story illustrates how financial incentives can distort science, corrupt government oversight, and endanger public health, particularly when it comes to products marketed for vulnerable populations like children and the elderly. Medical devices and drugs once trusted by doctors and patients have sometimes caused irreversible harm, revealing cracks in systems meant to protect us. As deregulation efforts continue and industry lobbying grows stronger, the risk of future harms rises. The public depends on scientific integrity and regulatory independence to ensure that life-saving drugs and medical devices are safe and effective, yet this balance remains under threat, with implications for environmental health, consumer trust, and social equity. Whistleblowers and investigative journalism remain critical lines of defense, but systemic change appears increasingly urgent to safeguard both human and environmental well-being.
For more: Johnson & Johnson must face cancer lawsuits in court after failed bankruptcy deal
