A class action filed today says Kiwis have been deceived for about two decades through the use of phenylephrine in cold and flu medicine.
The lawsuit against American pharmaceutical manufacturer Johnson & Johnson claims the ingredient, marketed as a nasal decongestant, is actually ineffective when taken orally.
Growing evidence has seen Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in the US propose an outright ban because it believes the drugs when taken orally don't work.
The ingredient had been marketed as a substitute for pseudoephedrine when it was banned for sale between 2011 and 2024 over concerns it was being used in the manufacture of illicit drugs.
Law firm JGA Saddler is urging the potentially millions of New Zealanders who have purchased affected products to register their claim.
Photo: RNZ
Director Rebecca Jancauskas said it could be one of the biggest class actions in New Zealand history.
"Customers should be able to confidently buy medicines that work as advertised and when they don't, the company involved should be held accountable," she said.
"Johnson & Johnson has manufactured and marketed a medication that decades of evidence have shown doesn't work as claimed, relying on outdated, fallible studies to sell the New Zealand public products that don't do what they say on the packet.
"New Zealanders have trusted these products to work as advertised and wouldn't have bought them if they knew they were ineffective at treating congestion.
"Johnson & Johnson has misled the public and they need to be held accountable for their actions. We are asking all New Zealanders who have purchased any of the 17 affected products to register to be a part of the class action."
The legal company has launched a similar class action in Australia.
RNZ has approached Johnson & Johnson for comment.
The products named in the suit are:
- Sudafed PE Nasal Decongestant Tablet
- Sudafed PE Sinus + Pain Relief Day & Night Tablet
- Sudafed PE Sinus + Pain Relief Tablet
- Sudafed PE Sinus + Allergy & Pain Relief
- Sudafed PE Sinus + Anti-inflammatory Pain Relief Tablet
- Codral Cold & Flu + Mucus Cough Capsule
- Codral Decongestant Tablet
- Codral Day & Night Tablet
- Codral Cold & Flu Tablet
- Codral Night Tablet
- Codral Mucus Cough + Cold Liquid
- Codral Cold & Flu + Mucus Cough Powder
- Codral Cold & Flu Powder
- Benadryl PE Chesty Cough & Nasal Congestion Syrup
- Codral Cold & Flu Sore Throat Tablet
- Day & Night Cold & Flu + Cough Combination Tablet
- Benadryl Mucus Relief Plus Decongestant Liquid
ISSUE
