No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of physical illness, mental illness, and death.

“To me, my family, and everyone I knew, Johnson & Johnson was the ideal American corporation. It was mother, medicine, and money all rolled into one.”

Gardiner Harris contextualizes the company Johnson & Johnson’s role in American society as it relates to his personal experience growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, and how that relates to its image overall. He is describing Johnson & Johnson’s positive public image to highlight The Disparity Between Public Image and Internal Practices elsewhere in the work.

“Johnson’s Baby Powder and Tylenol are among the most beloved and iconic consumer products ever sold. They largely define Johnson & Johnson’s image and have long provided the company with a protective halo of affection from consumers, professionals, and government officials.”

Harris begins his account with descriptions of how Johnson & Johnson failed to ensure the safety of its two “most beloved and iconic consumer products,” baby powder and Tylenol. His emphasis on these two products highlights the extent to which J&J’s unethical and illegal behavior extended even to its most trusted products, introducing the theme of The Lack of Corporate Ethics and Accountability. Harris argues these products conferred a near sacred quality (“a protective halo”) to the company as a whole, one that shielded it from scrutiny.

“A consistent theme throughout this book is how unsurprising so many findings were, given previous research—and that the earlier research had been ignored or essentially suppressed by those whose business interests would be impacted by awareness and regulation.”

As noted elsewhere in this guide, Harris relies heavily on previous reporting and research in his exposé of J&J. Here, Harris acknowledges this himself. He further argues that “business interests” used their power to minimize not only Regulatory Challenges and Governmental Oversight of this unethical or illegal behavior, but also public awareness of the “unsurprising” claims he makes in No More Tears.