Recent class action lawsuits accuse medicine, health product makers of false advertising

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Medicine class action lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Consumers recently filed class action lawsuits against medicine makers Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz Global, Chattem, Olly and Ricola. 
• Why: The class action lawsuits claim the over-the-counter medicine makers falsely advertised their products. 
• Where: Consumers filed the medicine class action lawsuits nationwide. 

Consumers recently filed a number of class action lawsuits against over-the-counter medicine and health product manufacturers, accusing them of false advertising. 

The consumers behind the medicine class action lawsuits argue the health product manufacturers collectively falsely advertise their products’ contents, effectiveness and safety. 

DayQuil accused of being falsely marketed as ‘non-drowsy,’ sold at inflated price when co-packaged with vitamin C

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Procter & Gamble earlier this month, claiming the company falsely markets its “Non-Drowsy” DayQuil over-the-counter cough, cold and flu medicine. 

The consumer behind the complaint argues the DayQuil product contains dextromethorphan hydrobromide (DXM), which is alleged to cause drowsiness, as one of the product’s active ingredients. 

“The truth is that products containing DXM — including the NonDrowsy DayQuil Products — do cause drowsiness, and that drowsiness is a common side effect of DXM (a fact not known by the average consumer),” the DayQuil class action states. 

A separate class action lawsuit alleges DayQuil co-packaged with vitamin C packets is sold at an inflated price since the vitamin C is not helpful at treating cold and flu symptoms. 

“While a large majority of the public believe that vitamin C can help fight off the symptoms of a cold and flu, this is false,” the DayQuil class action states. 

The consumer behind the complaint argues Procter & Gamble, by co-packaging vitamin C with DayQuil, is able to sell the product at a “premium price.” 

Halls sugar-free honey lemon lozenges not effective as cough suppressant, class action says

Also this month, a consumer filed a medicine class action lawsuit against Mondelēz Global, claiming that the company falsely markets its Halls brand sugar-free honey lemon-flavored lozenges. 

The consumer behind the complaint argues the Halls lozenges have an active ingredient of menthol, which they argue is allegedly both not curative and only able to offer temporary relief.

Ultimately, the consumer alleges Mondelēz misleads consumers by labeling the Halls product as a cough suppressant and oral anesthetic and representing that it contains real honey and lemon ingredients. 

ACT dry mouth lozenges harmful to oral health, class action claims

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Chattem Inc. earlier this month, claiming the company sold an ACT brand dry mouth lozenge it fails to disclose is allegedly harmful to oral health. 

The consumer behind the complaint claims the product contains a lower pH acidity level than what is considered safe and necessary to contribute to tooth decay. 

“In light of the Product’s pH, it is misleading to market it to persons suffering from dry mouth because it will have a detrimental effect on oral health,” the ACT class action states. 

Also this month, a consumer filed a separate class action lawsuit against Chattem, along with two other companies, over claims they produced Unisom Simple Slumbers sleep-aid products that were allegedly falsely advertised as “natural.” 

The consumer behind the complaint argues the companies cannot claim the Unisom sleep-aid product is natural since it allegedly contains several synthetic ingredients, including citric acid, sodium citrate, melatonin and vitamin B6. 

“These ingredients are not ‘natural’ and, thus, cannot ‘naturally’ help a consumer get a good night’s sleep,” the Unisom class action states. 

Olly accused of understating melatonin amount in sleep-aid products 

Also in January, a federal judge in California allowed the majority of allegations against Olly Public Benefit Corp. to proceed, with a consumer claiming the company understated how much melatonin was in its sleep-aid products. 

Olly was unsuccessful in its attempts to dismiss the medicine class action lawsuit. The company argued the consumer lacked standing and that the claims had been preempted. 

The consumer behind the class action lawsuit argues Olly sold melatonin sleep-aid supplements that contained a significantly higher amount of melatonin then what was allegedly listed on labeling for the product. 

“The true amount of melatonin in Plaintiffs’ bottles was 165% to 274% of the amount claimed,” the Olly lawsuit states.

Ricola green tea with echinacea throat drops get cough suppressant abilities from menthol, class action says

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Ricola in December, arguing the company misleadingly represents that its green tea with echinacea throat drops get their cough suppressant abilities from the aforementioned substances. 

The consumer behind the complaint argues the Ricola throat drops actually get their cough suppressant abilities from menthol and that green tea and echinacea allegedly have “no connection to the Product’s function.” 

“No credible evidence supports a connection between botanical ingredients like echinacea and green tea and alleviating symptoms of upper respiratory infections such as coughs,” the Ricola class action states. 

Have you felt misled by an over-the-counter medicine product manufacturer? Let us know in the comments.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Halls class action claims sugar-free honey lemon-flavored lozenges make false, misleading claims
• Olly class action claims product contains more melatonin than label states
• DayQuil class action claims non-drowsy formula falsely advertised
• $83M Walgreens settlement ends claims retailer contributed to state opioid epidemic