...The “Tylenol Murders “: The Devastating Recall That Started a Revolution within the Pharmaceutical Industry By: Angela Thorne Everest University Online: Student/ MAN3554 Author Note Onlinecci.com; Everest.edu; Abstract Abstract According to a case study conducted by the US Department of Defense, “Tylenol was the most successful over-the-counter product in the United States. There were over 100 million users of the product. Tylenol, outselling 4 other leading painkillers, was responsible for 19% of Johnson & Johnson’s corporate profits during the first 3 quarters of 1982”, which is the very year that they almost lost its reputable view and success over a senseless act that left 6 adults and 1 12-year-old child dead of cyanide poisoning after all had taken capsules of Extra strength Tylenol, a well-known and used over-the-counter medication taken for minor headaches and pain associated with the common cold and other minor symptoms. This is the examination of the way Johnson and Johnson handled this incident that brought about a change and a revolution in the pharmaceutical industry. Keywords: Recall; Tylenol; murders; 1982; tamper The “Tylenol Murders “: The Devastating Recall That Started a Revolution within the Pharmaceutical Industry In the fall of 1982, Johnson and Johnson, the parent company of McNeil Consumer Products Company, which manufactures Tylenol, had to recall its Tylenol Extra Strength capsules, after an investigation into the cyanide- poisoning...
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...A History of Tylenol Tylenol: the early years Tylenol was developed by McNeil Laboratories. It has as its active ingredient a generic compound that can be manufactured by most pharmaceutical companies: acetaminophen. After Johnson & Johnson acquired McNeil in 1959, it began aggressively to advertise the product—to health professionals—as an analgesic that was as effective as aspirin but easier on the stomach. By 1970, sales of Tylenol were growing about 20 to 30 percent annually, with projected sales to reach about $60 million by 1975. With the release of a number of studies in the early 1970s which questioned the wisdom of widespread dependency on aspirin as a pain-killer, the use of acetaminophen accelerated with Tylenol accounting for 90 percent of acetaminophen sales. Two-thirds of Tylenol users were introduced to the product by physicians. Others became familiar with it through hospitals, where it was used extensively—not necessarily because it was the medication of choice, but because it was generally less expensive than other analgesics and less interactive than aspirin. When a 1976 survey showed that consumers were generally aware that Tylenol was easier on their digestive system than other analgesics but felt that this benefit was achieved at a loss of efficacy to reduce pain, Johnson & Johnson introduced Extra-Strength Tylenol. Extra-Strength Tylenol became the first nonprescription analgesic to contain 500 mg of pain-killer per unit—the established industry...
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...Ethics: Tylenol Recall Case of 1982 Developing high-quality business ethics is a crucial step in avoiding, resolving and preventing ethical problems. If companies focus on exceeding the standard expectations for ethical situations, they will be more likely to hold on to their current customers and might even attract new clientele. The Chicago Tylenol Recall is the perfect example of how the corrective actions a company takes may be able to save the reputation and restore the image it has worked hard to create. Johnson & Johnson was faced with a situation that was not necessarily theirs to blame. Someone, that was not associated with the company, had been tampering with the over-the-counter medicine. However, Tylenol took certain measures to illustrate to their consumers they were a trustworthy company that cares about their customers’ safety. The methods Johnson & Johnson used to handle the crisis had both positives and negatives, but overall, the company was able to regain the company’s image and become one of the most popular medications. 1. History and Background of Case In 1982, Chicago was hit by a string of deaths caused by tainted cyanide-filled capsules of Tylenol. Someone had been filling Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules with cyanide and returning them to drug-store shelves (Tift and Griggs). By October of 1982, seven people had been killed by the poison-laced capsules (Meadows). This caused a wave of panic in the city, state, and country as it involved...
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...Colby Joe Carver 10/16/15 PR Case Study 1. Tylenol is a elite corporate company that had a couple issues with its products of pain medication with people tampering with its products. This caused people to die in the first case and the second case of these events. The first case someone was putting cyanide in the capsules in the Chicago distribution center and it wasn’t found to be at where they make the medicine. With the public then very skeptical on Tylenol and its products they had to make something to gain the customers trust back. They came out with a new packaging bottle. It featured the triple safety seal on its packages so no one could tamper with them. If one was unbroken then it was urged to not use the product. The second case was about another woman dying in New York after taking Tylenol. The company then sprang into action again by halting all production. They then decided to come out with the caplets instead of capsules because it was easier for people to tamper with the capsules vs. the caplets. 2. This case study is the primary story that has helped many businesses around the world deal with similar problems within their own companies. The way Tylenol and Johnson & Johnson handled these issues is paramount to how they should’ve been handled. Even President Reagan said that they have their deepest appreciation for living up to the highest ideals of corporate responsibility and grace under pressure. Today this case study is the threshold of how to...
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...GM588 FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL OUTLINE Annette M Daniels 1. THE PAINFUL TRUTH OF A COMPANY’S PURSUIT OF QUALITY 2. Johnson and Johnson 3. Johnson & Johnson was organized in the State of New Jersey in 1886. Today they employee approximately 115,000 people worldwide. Johnson & Johnson has more than 250 companies located in 57 countries around the world. From these 250 companies they Manufacture and sell health care products. The Family of Companies is organized into several business segments comprised of franchises and therapeutic categories. * Consumer Health Care The Consumer segment includes a broad range of consumer health and personal care products in the beauty, baby, oral care and women’s health categories, as well as nutritional products and over-the-counter medicines and wellness and prevention platforms. * Medical Devices & Diagnostics The Medical Devices & Diagnostics segment focuses on technologies, solutions and services in the fields of cardiovascular disease, diabetes care, orthopedics, vision care, wound care, aesthetics, sports medicine, infection prevention, minimally invasive surgery, and diagnostics. * Pharmaceuticals It includes products in the anti-infective, antipsychotic, cardiovascular, contraceptive, dermatology, gastrointestinal, hematology, immunology, neurology, oncology, pain management, and urology and virology fields. * Many of Johnson and Johnson’s businesses and facilities have been certified to meet International...
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...communication case study. The case that will get analyze in the content of this paper is The Tylenol Murders this change the image of the maker of this product. There is a write up about the different public involved in the case study and the differentiation between the internal and external public involved, along with could this case study been communicated any more effectively. Identifying the different public relations communications tools and techniques that were used to infirm, influence, motivate the public; what other tools would have been used. Last if this were to happen today how would new improve technologies effect this case, mean while because of the recent globalization of market could the result of Tylenol Murders case turn out any different if it occurred today. Identify the different publics Johnson and Johnson have been in business for over one hundred years. This company is the maker of the brand name medication Tylenol and is known as a well managed business, but on the morning of September 30th the year 1982 Johnson & Johnson was face with a unforeseen public relation situations. The company learned that the extra-strength Tylenol had been used to murder three people. In passing days there was a report of three more people also dying from the extra-strength Tylenol. Before this occurred Johnson and Johnson was a growing million dollar company. When the murder of the six people occurred the high profile company was caught off guard, but right away they...
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...Search the Internet for the phrase "Chicago Tylenol murders". Then, after you are familiar with this disaster, discuss the impact of the Tylenol recall of 1982. ◦How did the maker of Tylenol, Johnson & Johnson, manage the relationship with its customers in the aftermath of the event? ◦How does a recall affect an organization? In 1982 deaths of seven individuals, living in the area of Chicago, Illinois were caused by potassium cyanide filled, Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. The impact of the recall was significant, but Johnson & Johnson recovered. In Ethics and the Conduct of Business, 6 the ed., Boat right states that “although economic and legal considerations played a role in Johnson & Johnson’s response to the Tylenol crisis, the credo served too, and the clear statements of responsibility that it contained enabled the company to make some really tough, but ultimately right, decisions” (Boat right, 2008). “We believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services. In meeting their needs everything we do must be of high quality. We must constantly strive to reduce our costs in order to maintain reasonable prices. Customers’ orders must be serviced promptly and accurately. Our suppliers and distributors must have an opportunity to make a fair profit. We are responsible to our employees, the men and women who work with us throughout...
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...even behavior on the part of its targeted publics”. The public relations decisions made as a result of the Tylenol crisis arrived in two phases. The first phase was the actual handling of the crisis. The comeback of both Johnson & Johnson and Tylenol was the second phase in the public relations plan. The planning for phase two began almost as soon as phase one was being implemented. The sabotage of the Tylenol capsules spurred an extreme panic about the safety of over-the-counter medications. In fact, the Tylenol crisis was so prominent that a survey at the time shows more Americans were aware of the tragedy than could identify the president of the United States (Murray & Shohen, 1992). It even threatened the very survival of Johnson & Johnson as a company because at the time, Tylenol products made up a very large portion of their revenue. Johnson & Johnson chairman and CEO, James Burke, reacted to the negative media coverage by forming a seven-member strategy team. The team's strategy guidance from Burke was first, "How do we protect the people?" and second "How do we save this product?" The company's first actions were to immediately alerted consumers across the nation, via the media, not to consume any type of Tylenol product. They told consumers not to resume using the product until the extent of the tampering could be determined (Broom, 1994). Tylenol was very careful to point out that the tampering must have occurred at the retail stores. However, they did...
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...solvents like methanol and ethanol Not very soluble in water and ethene Acetaminophen (Tylenol) C8H9NO2 Chemical Properties IUPAC: N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)acetamide Common Names: Paracetamol, Tylenol, Panadol, Tempera, APAP Organic Family/ Functional Group Biological Importance Primary organic family: aromatics Functional groups: alcohols (OOH) and amide (OCONHO) Taking too much acetaminophen can lead to liver damage/failure or death FDA recommends daily maximum of 4,000 mg for adults; overdoses of this painkiller are some of most common poisonings Sources and Abundance Manufactured by Ortho McNeil Pharmaceuticals Inc., G and W Laboratories Inc., etc. Packaged by McNeil Laboratories, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreen Co., Interesting Facts Acetaminophen is the most popular pain relief medication used in the U.S. and around the world Accounts for over 100,000 calls to poison centers, 60,000 ER visits, hundreds of deaths annually in the U.S. In 1982, seven deaths occurred, known as Chicago Tylenol Murders, as result of taking Extra-Strength Tylenol caplets laced with cyanide Origin/Discovery In 1899, Karl Morner of Germany, discovered Acetanilide became Acetaminophen when the body metabolizes it 10 years later, German physician Joseph Friener van Mering, first synthesized the drug Acetaminophen. Acetaminophen was lab synthesized First sold in 1955 as Tylenol Elixir for Children from the company McNeil Laboratories Stable under ordinary conditions ...
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...under the influence of alcohol which was the reason why he cannot give proper instructions to the staff. Hazelwood's activities in town and on the ship are the main focuses of the investigation. This also became the basis of widespread media sensation. Indeed, Exxon’s reputation suffered severely. Some Public Relation Practitioners said that Exxon seriously worsened the damage to the public due to its slow and insufficient responses. Exxon also failed to establish itself as a company concerned about the problems it had caused. As a matter of fact Lawrence Rawl, Exxon’s chairman waited about a week before commenting on the crisis and almost three weeks before visiting the location of the spill. B. Johnson and Johnson: Tylenol In 1982, Tylenol, the top selling pain-killer medicine in the United States and Johnson and Johnson’s bestselling product faced a big dilemma when seven people in Chicago were...
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...JOHNSON & JOHNSON AND THE TYLENOL POISONING A bottle of Tylenol is a common feature of any medicine cabinet as a safe and reliable painkiller, but in the fall of 1982, this household brand was driven to the point of near extinction along with the fortunes of parent company Johnson & Johnson as a result of a product tampering case that has never been solved. On September 29, 1982, seven people in the Chicago area died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide. Investigators later determined that the bottles of Tylenol had been purchased or shoplifted from seven or eight drugstores and supermarkets and then replaced on shelves after the capsules in the bottle had been removed, emptied of their acetaminophen powder, and filled with cyanide. The motive for the killings was never established, although a grudge against Johnson & Johnson or the retail chains selling the brand was suspected. A man called James Lewis attempted to profit from the event by sending an extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson, presumably inspired by the $100,000 reward the company had posted, but the police dismissed him as a serious suspect. He was jailed for 13 years for the extortion but never charged with the murders. The response of Johnson & Johnson to the potential destruction of its most profitable product line has since become business legend and is taught today as a classic case study in crisis management at universities all over the world. Company chairman James...
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...The Tylenol case represents perhaps the worst sort of dilemma a company can face. Through no fault of its own, Johnson & Johnson was faced with the destruction of one of its most important brand names. An unknown assailant used the product to murder a number of people at random, and the story was one of the most widely covered events in media history. Within the first week it is estimated that more than 90 percent of the American public were aware of what had happened. This situation left the product in a very bad position - no one wanted to use Tylenol in case there had been some tampering with the product. Johnson & Johnson had done nothing to betray the public's trust in the company, or its products; yet that trust, a great deal of revenue, and a large market share segment were gone. One horrible event and the excessive media coverage that followed, put Johnson & Johnson in a position where it needed to salvage its image and revenues even though the company had done nothing wrong. Americans were bombarded with information about the Tylenol incident. The volume of information pertaining to the cyanide-induced deaths was incredible. The fact that the story received so much attention probably saved the lives of people who would have otherwise unwittingly taken cyanide-laced Tylenol and died. Consumer response immediately after the tragedies showed what the makers of Tylenol were up against as demand for all brands of pain relievers and sleeping aids dropped by 16...
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...are in a great crisis. Crisis need not strike a company purely as a result of its own negligence or misadventure. Often, a situation is created which cannot be blamed on the company - but the company finds out pretty quickly that it takes a huge amount of blame if it fumbles the ball in its response. One perfect example of this is that of Johnson & Johnson, and their response to the Tylenol poisoning back in the year 1982 when the company’s Tylenol medication commanded 35 per cent of the US over-the-counter analgesic market. Unfortunately, one individual succeeded at lacing the medication with cyanide. This caused the death of seven people which resulted into a nationwide panic about how widespread the said contamination may be. In the end of that certain incident, everyone knew that Tylenol was associated with the scare and J&J’s market value fell by one billion dollars as a result. History repeated for Johnson & Johnson. The incident reenacted itself in 1986, but the company has learned its lesson and is not willing to suffer the same consequences. It acted rapidly and recalled every Tylenol products from every market – not just those which are in the affected state. Not only that, the company also stated that the product would not be re-established on the market until something had been done to provide better product protection. Thus, Johnson & Johnson developed the “tamperproof” packaging that would make it difficult for a similar incident to occur in the future. Another...
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...The oil spill killed 500,000 birds over 90 species more than 4000 sea otters, 14 killer whales and destroyed tourism and the fish industry of the area. It was said on reports that the probable reason on why the tanker has gone aground was because of the captain and its crew being drunk. The "Exxon Valdez" entered the language as a shortcut for corporate arrogance and damage because of its lack of action as soon as possible by the owners of the company when the oil spill happened. 2/9 Johnson & Johnson: Tylenol Tylenol an over-the-counter product in the U.S. with over hundred million users was the most successful in selling painkillers. Tylenol was the absolute leader in the painkiller field accounting for a 37 percent market share, outselling the next four leading painkillers combined, including Anacin, Bayer, Bufferin, and Excedrin. Unfortunately in 1982 a total of seven deaths occurred in Chicago resulting to a recall of all Tylenol bottles all over the U.S. which led to a drop in sales of $1.2B but has recovered because of its great strategies by using public relations and media as a tool to once again gain the trust of its consumers. 3/9 II. Situational Analysis Exxon Valdez I’ll be using the social, environmental, economic and political variation. In the environment, it greatly affects the Bligh Reefs of Prince William Sound in Alaska since it has many wild life that surrounds it. It destroyed the entire reef which killed a lot...
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...Exxon Valdez and Tylenol Case Study DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY - DASMARIÑAS Communication Arts Department Lawrence G. Rawl, chairman and chief executive of the Exxon Corpoation was in his kitchen sipping coffee when the phone rang and received the news regarding the spilling of crude oil into the frigid waters of Prince William Sound, just outside the harbor of Valdez, Alaska. What was about to happen was the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States. These were the documented facts that media had portrayed across the United States and to the world: Exxon Valdez, a 978-foot tanker piloted by a captain whom later revealed to be drank, ran aground on a reef 25 miles southwest of the port of Valdez. The results caused a spill of 250,000 barrels, the largest spill ever in North America. The devastating results affects, 1,300 square miles of water, damaging some 600 miles of coastline and murdering as many as 4,000 Alaskan sea otters. The disaster also enshrined the name of Exxon in the all-time Public Relations Hall of Shame. (Seitel, 2000). According to the book, Exxon’s dilemma broke down into five categories. First was the hesitation of Mr. Rawl if he is going directly and personally to Alaska. In an interview Mr. Rawl has said, “We had concluded that there was simply too much for me to coordinate from New York. It wouldn’t have made any difference if I showed up and made a speech in the town forum. I wasn’t going to spend the summer there;...
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