Benadryl is Johnson & Johson's over-the-counter antihistamine brand, sold worldwide for allergy relief and cold symptoms.
Johnson & Johson has faced major litigation over asbestos-contaminated talc, settled opioid claims for billions, and been fined for unlawful drug marketing.
It also funds and operates research partnerships in Israel, including the FutuRx biopharma incubator and acquisitions like Omrix, embedding J&J in the state’s innovation economy.
Animal testing remains central to its drug and device development.
The company’s record of harm spans decades and multiple domains. In public health, J&J knowingly sold asbestos-tainted talc that caused cancers, fueled the opioid epidemic through aggressive marketing, and continues to restrict access to lifesaving medicines in the Global South. It has a history of unethical medical testing on prisoners and has been fined repeatedly for deceptive drug promotion.
Animal welfare is another area of entrenched abuse. J&J continues to rely on extensive animal testing, particularly in pharmaceutical R&D, with no commitments to phase it out.
Its political complicity is equally significant. Through joint ventures, acquisitions, and incubators, J&J directs capital and research into Israel’s health-tech sector—an economy documented by human rights groups as sustaining an apartheid system. These ties provide funding, infrastructure, and global credibility to companies and institutions operating within an occupation framework.
Taken together, consumer harms, systemic exploitation, and conflict complicity, J&J represents a High Impact boycott target. Challenging J&J directly addresses one of the most influential actors in global healthcare, whose misconduct reverberates through medicine, human rights, and international law.