Huge Motrin Recall Swindle

[eits]

i had no idea this was happening...

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4231207/motrin-recall-controversy

 

[Anubis]

do we have a non video report?

 

[eits]

do we have a non video report?

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blog...johnson-and-johnson-motrin-recall-controversy

 

[vi edit]

I'm torn. On one hand it does seem really shady and they are trying to cheat the system and skirt around a recall.

On the other hand, you have a small percentage of your overall product on the shelf that is affected but trying to convey that to the average American consumer and their 8th grade reading level intelligence while keeping the sensationalist media under control is an expensive, uphill battle.

 

[zinfamous]

I'm torn. On one hand it does seem really shady and they are trying to cheat the system and skirt around a recall.

On the other hand, you have a small percentage of your overall product on the shelf that is affected but trying to convey that to the average American consumer and their 8th grade reading level intelligence while keeping the sensationalist media under control is an expensive, uphill battle.

good points.

 

[D1gger]

I'm torn. On one hand it does seem really shady and they are trying to cheat the system and skirt around a recall.

On the other hand, you have a small percentage of your overall product on the shelf that is affected but trying to convey that to the average American consumer and their 8th grade reading level intelligence while keeping the sensationalist media under control is an expensive, uphill battle.

The problem I see with this is that if it is a defective product, J&J did not let the public know and those that bought the product before it was recovered off the shelves do not know they are using a defective product.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Caveat emptor pretty much solves this.

 

[vi edit]

The problem I see with this is that if it is a defective product, J&J did not let the public know and those that bought the product before it was recovered off the shelves do not know they are using a defective product.

I'm not trying to be an appologist for big biz/pharma and I don't know the specifics of this recall but think of this -

People have probably already consumed some, if not all of the product by then and they can't do anything about it. And usually with these recalls it's a specific lot run from a particular plant. Trying to effectively communicate to a panicking public that not every bottle is bad and have them understand that is a terribly difficult undertaking.

I don't necessarily agree with the tactics, but I can certainly understand the financial motivation behind it.

 

[Evadman]

Caveat emptor pretty much solves this.

I can tell that the car I am buying is defective because it is missing a tire. I can't tell that motrin is defective because it contains some chemical that will kill me. There is no way for the average (or even several deviations above average) to determine that a pill/medication is defective. Sure, if it is purple instead of yellow there may be a clue, but that's it.

 

[child of wonder]

Now I know never to buy Motrin and to advise others to do the same.

VERY shady.

 

[gorcorps]

The fact that they care enough to send someone out to but the bad product is a lot better than I expect out of most companies these days. How many others had faulty lines of product that didn't make any announcement AND THEN never make any attempt to fix the situation? We'll never know.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

I can tell that the car I am buying is defective because it is missing a tire. I can't tell that motrin is defective because it contains some chemical that will kill me. There is no way for the average (or even several deviations above average) to determine that a pill/medication is defective. Sure, if it is purple instead of yellow there may be a clue, but that's it.

Ultimate responsibility for what someone does is theirs and theirs alone. Market forces always triumph. If people get sick taking Motrin, people will not buy Motrin. the company has every reason not to sell defective products sans any regulation. Said regulation cost far more than it's worth, and as evidenced by this event, is easily circumvented. Why would you rely on regulation?

 

[Gibsons]

Ultimate responsibility for what someone does is theirs and theirs alone. Market forces always triumph. If people get sick taking Motrin, people will not buy Motrin. the company has every reason not to sell defective products sans any regulation. Said regulation cost far more than it's worth, and as evidenced by this event, is easily circumvented. Why would you rely on regulation?

The problem is that say 3 people get sick from it, and 1 dies, out of several thousand who take it. Odds are you'll never hear about it. Plus, market forces will only work after something bad happens. Up until that point, it might work in reverse - the companies that produce the cheapest, least safe product will gain market share.

In this case, I really doubt anyone was going to even get sick from this problem(s), but the coverup attempt is very slimy.

 

[DrPizza]

It's not plain Motrin though. My wife and I have several bottles of Motrin products in our medicine cabinet at home. There's one, (motrin sinus? I think) that made both of us sick & did nothing to relieve a headache. We've both commented on it & stopped using it, but it's still in the medicine cabinet.

I wonder if it will come out what lot numbers they were, and what specific product.

 

[vi edit]

I wonder if it will come out what lot numbers they were, and what specific product.

http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/page.jhtml?id=/include/prd_motrin.inc

 

[mrjminer]

Holy shit, that's quite a bit of different Motrin products. Is that their entire product line of regular (ie: non-sinus/special types) of Motrin? Even though it only affects certain lots, that's probably still their 10 most common/popular variations of Motrin.

They're going to get their asses fined/sued off, and I bet some people are going to jail for this one.

 

[CLite]

Ultimate responsibility for what someone does is theirs and theirs alone. Market forces always triumph. If people get sick taking Motrin, people will not buy Motrin. the company has every reason not to sell defective products sans any regulation. Said regulation cost far more than it's worth, and as evidenced by this event, is easily circumvented. Why would you rely on regulation?

Why do we rely on laws against murder and robbery? Sure some criminals ignore them but they keep most of society in check.

By having a regulation that says you can't have a poisonous chemical in your medicine then we can punish companies that do this, even if they slip through the first line of defense (the regulation itself). Just like if someone kills someone we don't throw the law against murder out the window for being ineffective, we punish the person committing the crime.

 

[Evadman]

Ultimate responsibility for what someone does is theirs and theirs alone. Market forces always triumph. If people get sick taking Motrin, people will not buy Motrin. the company has every reason not to sell defective products sans any regulation. Said regulation cost far more than it's worth, and as evidenced by this event, is easily circumvented. Why would you rely on regulation?

Using that same logic, BP doesn't have to fix the leak in the golf because everyone will stop buying BP and they will go under. Toyota doesn't have to fix their gas pedal (or electronics, or whatever because people will stop buying Toyota) Your argument doesn't make any sense, because many will die or the environment will be destroyed while the market is deciding what to do.

 

[preslove]

Using that same logic, BP doesn't have to fix the leak in the golf because everyone will stop buying BP and they will go under. Toyota doesn't have to fix their gas pedal (or electronics, or whatever because people will stop buying Toyota) Your argument doesn't make any sense, because many will die or the environment will be destroyed while the market is deciding what to do.

Don't bother. Some people just cling to their ideologies like a religion. Anyone who says that "all government regulation is bad" is just as out there as someone who says that "all corporations are bad." Both should just be ignored.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Now I know never to buy J&J Products and to advise others to do the same.

VERY shady.

Fixed. Had they done the recall correctly it would have only negatively affected the Motrin brand. Now it should affect all J&J brands.

 

[preslove]

Fixed. Had they done the recall correctly it would have only negatively affected the Motrin brand. Now it should affect all J&J brands.

srsly

The initial error isn't the big deal, the lack of transparency is. Just issue a recall so that all the bad batches are more likely to be taken off the shelf and people who've already made the purchase know to throw it away/send it back. This just makes you wonder what's going on with J&J corporate & therefore makes me want to avoid all of their brands.

 

[Ksyder]

I think that it is terrible that J&J would do that. It doesn't solve the problem of people that already have purchased or will somehow get their hands on defective product. By not publicizing the problem they may be putting certain people at risk that take it (I don't know the specifics of the problem with the drug)

With something like aspirin where you can't look at it and know that there is a problem with it, the company has a responsibility to alert the public. I think people understand that mistakes and problems happen and they would respect the fact that the company is recalling the product. Instead, like BP, their cutting of corners is going to cost them more than if they would have just done the right thing.

 

[Lithium381]

I think that it is terrible that J&J would do that. It doesn't solve the problem of people that already have purchased or will somehow get their hands on defective product. By not publicizing the problem they may be putting certain people at risk that take it (I don't know the specifics of the problem with the drug)

With something like aspirin where you can't look at it and know that there is a problem with it, the company has a responsibility to alert the public. I think people understand that mistakes and problems happen and they would respect the fact that the company is recalling the product. Instead, like BP, their cutting of corners is going to cost them more than if they would have just done the right thing.

if you can't tell by looking, you're a noob

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Market forces always triumph.

Lollerskates.