P&G class action claims Vicks PE products ineffective following FDA report

P&G Vicks PE class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Mohamad Tlaib filed a class action lawsuit against Procter & Gamble Co. 
• Why: Tlaib claims P&G misleads consumers about effectiveness of over-the-counter Vicks brand oral nasal decongestant products. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court. 

Procter & Gamble Company sells Vicks over-the-counter oral nasal decongestant products containing an active ingredient that prevents them from being effective, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Mohamad Tlaib claims the P&G products, including Vicks Dayquil Severe Cold & Flu and Vicks Nyquil Severe Cold & Flu, contain phenylephrine hydrochloride (PE) as their active ingredient, making them “no more effective as a nasal decongestant than a placebo.” 

Tlaib argues further that P&G misleads consumers by labeling on the front packaging of the Vicks PE products that they are “MAX STRENGTH,’ despite the Food and Drug Administration recently confirming that phenylephrine hydrochloride is not an effective nasal decongestant. 

“P&G takes advantage of this consumer preference for strong relief by prominently representing the alleged strength of the Vicks PE Products in the one place every consumer looks when purchasing a product—the front packaging,” the P&G class action states. 

Tlaib wants to represent a nationwide class, multistate consumer protection class, and Illinois subclass of consumers who purchased the Vicks PE products. 

P&G knowingly misleads consumers about strength of Vicks PE products, says class action

Tlaib claims P&G chooses to knowingly mislead consumers about the strength of its Vicks PE products, since the company allegedly is aware that “higher doses of acetaminophen exist on the market.” 

“Rather than being honest and transparent, P&G makes this ‘MAX STRENGTH’ representation in a knowingly false, misleading, and deceptive manner,” the P&G class action states. 

Tlaib claims P&G is guilty of unjust enrichment and of violating state consumer fraud acts, the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, and the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. 

The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of compensatory and punitive or statutory damages for himself and all class members. 

In another case involving P&G, the company agreed in January to pay $8 million to end claims its aerosolized products contain the cancer-causing chemical benzene. 

Have you purchased an over-the-counter oral nasal decongestant Vicks PE product? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Gary M. Klinger, Nick Suciu III, Erin Ruben, J. Hunter Bryson, Karl Amalchenko, and Jimmy Mintz of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC, and Jeff Ostrow, Jonathan M. Streisfeld, Kristen Lake Cardoso, and Daniel Tropin of Kopelowitz Ostrow P.A., and Melissa S. Weiner and Ryan J. Gott of Pearson Warshaw, LLP. 

The P&G Vicks PE class action lawsuit is Tlaib v. Procter & Gamble Co., Case No. 1:23-cv-13840, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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