Certain Clinique Acne Solutions Products Contain Toxic Benzene, Class Action Lawsuit Says

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Clinique Laboratories faces a proposed class action lawsuit over allegations that certain items in the cosmetics company’s Acne Solutions product line potentially contain a dangerous carcinogen.

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The 32-page acne treatment lawsuit explains that certain Clinique products contain benzoyl peroxide, which allegedly degrades naturally over time into benzene, a toxic petrochemical linked to leukemia and other cancers. The case contends that the Clinique Acne Solutions products at issue are “worthless” because they contain, or risk containing, benzene.

Clinique is just one of numerous other skin care brands to come under fire recently, as the suit tells it, for allegedly failing to warn consumers on product packaging that the items contain or risk containing “dangerous amounts” of the known carcinogen.

The case contends that shoppers have reasonably relied to their detriment on Clinique’s representations that the acne treatments were safe and free from harmful contaminants not listed on the label.

Per the complaint, the presence of benzene in the products at issue was detected by Valisure, an independent laboratory whose recent analysis of 175 acne treatments on the market showed, in particular, “unacceptable levels” of the carcinogen in Clinique’s 2.5 percent benzoyl peroxide cream.

The filing charges that the presence of the cancer-causing substance renders the skin care products “worthless,” unsafe and illegal to sell under federal law.

What’s more, the suit claims that Clinique was aware of the concerns surrounding the use of benzoyl peroxide because the compound’s degradation process is well-documented. Nevertheless, Clinique “did nothing” to avoid or reduce the potential for benzene contamination in its acne treatments during manufacture or distribution, the case alleges.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased Clinique Acne Solutions products for personal use during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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