CVS Cotton Swabs Inadequate Warnings About Use in Ear Class Action

The topic in this class action is cotton swabs, which the complaint calls “one of the most curious and bizarre consumer products in the country.” They were originally sold as implements for removing ear wax. However, in recent times this kind of cleaning has come to be regarded as unsafe and unnecessary. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., the defendant in this case, sells cotton swabs, but the complaint alleges that the containers do not contain sufficient warnings that the swabs should not be put inside the ear canal.

The class for this action is all persons in the US who bought the product between May 1, 2017 and the present.

The complaint takes issue with two warnings used on its current cotton swab packages.

It quotes Warning A as reading, “When cleaning ears, use in outer ear only!” The complaint alleges that this phrase “is completely erroneous.” It claims that the word “when” “essentially invites the consumer to clean the ears with a cotton swab…. The ‘warning’, read in its totality, is encouraging consumers to use the product in a manner that clearly violates the medical guidance and is likely to cause injuries.”

At the bottom of page 5 of the complaint is an image of Warning B, which says only, “Keep out of the reach of children.” This provides no warning at all about not putting the cotton swabs inside ears.

The complaint alleges that CVS at best made an error in labeling its package, “causing consumers to be deceived about the proper uses for its cotton swabs. At its worst, though, CVS surreptitiously kept the warning for its highest selling cotton swab packaging vague as there is no doubt that the lion’s share of the revenue generated from this product is from sales to consumers cleaning ears with a cotton swab.”

The complaint alleges that cleaning the ears with a cotton swab “is dangerous and not medically advised.” Also, it claims, “The American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery has specifically listed cotton swabs as an ‘inappropriate or harmful intervention’ in its 2008 guidelines; and the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Association of Pediatrics concur that cleaning ears with cotton swabs is not medically reasonable.”

The complaint claims that around 12,500 children are seen each year in emergency rooms because of “ear-related cotton swab injuries” and “thousands of people are treated for TMP with the leading cause being the use of a cotton swab…” For these and other reasons, the complaint implies that labels on cotton swabs clearly warning consumers not to put them inside the ear are necessary.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels, Lack of Adequate Warning, Negligent Misrepresentation