Johnson & Johnson, a household name in pharmaceuticals, has weathered numerous scandals over the decades, with one of the most notorious emerging in 1982. As the world was to learn, the company’s flagship product, Tylenol, triggered a deadly public health crisis. This shocking reality contributed to tragic deaths and a record-setting recall. This incident would go on to not only challenge the company’s reputation but really redefine safety protocols throughout the pharmaceutical industry.
In the autumn of 1982, a healthy, active 12-year old from Elk Grove Village, Illinois came down sick. Not feeling well, she requested to stay home from school. Her parents provided her with an extra-strength Tylenol capsule to address the pain. Tragically, she died just hours later. This incident would be the first in a string of seemingly random murders tied to Tylenol.
Like the other seven victims, on September 29, 1982, Mary Kellerman woke up sick that morning. After swallowing her own extra-strength Tylenol capsule, she passed from her mortal condition just hours later. Investigators soon linked the deaths of Mary Kellerman and the young girl to the same product, igniting a widespread panic. On that day, six more people from the Chicagoland area died. They were all between the ages of 19 and 35 and encountered similar tragic fates. The common denominator: all had consumed Tylenol.
For the last three years in a row, the FDA has fielded upwards of 300 complaints of contamination. Despite this very alarming input, they chose to not add a liver warning on Tylenol bottles long before these deaths happened. Critics claim that this failure to be cautious created the groundwork for the chaos that followed.
In order to answer the call during this crisis, Johnson & Johnson made their historic move. The move later prompted the company to recall about 31 million similar Tylenol bottles from retail outlets nationwide. That night, this became the largest recorded drug recall in history at a cost to the company of roughly $100 million to address.
“It was the largest drug recall in history and cost J&J $100 million to manage.” – Harris
At the time, very few consumers—including myself—knew that Tylenol was made by Johnson & Johnson. The company’s response in this window of time would be critical to its brand health in the future. Before the crisis even hit, they had already been working on tamper-resistant packaging for Tylenol. When they relaunched the product on Thanksgiving Day in 1982, it became notable for having additional safety features—a plastic ring around the neck of pill bottles and a foil seal over the bottle’s mouth. This breakthrough established the gold standard, as these measures were later adopted by all OTC drugmakers.
“These measures were soon adopted by every over-the-counter drug manufacturer.” – Harris
The aftermath of the Tylenol crisis led to a serious and long overdue conversation about pharmaceutical safety and regulatory practices. Tactically, experts say that Johnson & Johnson’s aggressive response saved the company and any potential reputation. This strategy further allowed the company to present itself as a leader in consumer safety.
Tyler Mathisen prophesized, “I cannot think of a company that is more American in its values than Johnson & Johnson… It is the very spirit of America. This feeling paints a picture of the company’s difficult duality— a commonly relied upon brand but a powerful unicorn company now faced with public disfavor.
Despite the company’s efforts to improve safety, lingering concerns about Tylenol’s safety persisted. Jane Byrne, then Mayor of Chicago, famously advised against taking Tylenol in any form—tablet or liquid—until further investigations clarified the product’s safety.
“Don’t take Tylenol,” she said, “not even in tablet or liquid form.” – Jane Byrne
Moreover, reports surfaced indicating that Johnson & Johnson had been aware for years that moderate drinkers—an overwhelming majority of Americans—could experience severe liver damage from ordinary doses of Tylenol. This shocking announcement cast doubt on the company’s integrity and dedication to consumer safety and transparency.
“Johnson & Johnson had known for years that moderate drinkers — a description that applies to most Americans — could suffer catastrophic liver damage from ordinary doses of Tylenol.” – Harris
Equally significant backlash to the agency’s response to the crisis. The agency’s concern was no less valid. They were clearly afraid that if they added liver damage warnings, more people who were suicidal would choose Tylenol as a way to hurt themselves.
“The agency said it didn’t want people who were contemplating suicide to know the damage the drug could do.” – Harris
Despite these hurdles, Johnson & Johnson persisted, growing even amid the tumult, driven largely in part due to its dominance over the pharmaceutical industry. The company maintained that it was a uniquely beneficial force for good in the world, striving to uphold its commitment to public health.
The 1982 Tylenol poisoning incident has since become a case study at Harvard Business School, illustrating how companies can navigate crisis management and public relations challenges. OGT and their continued willingness to share those lessons learned from the incident have been invaluable to current and future generations of business leaders.
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