Man Files $75 Million Lawsuit Against Nasal Spray Company

A man is suing the makers of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Spray for $75 million, claiming that it caused him to lose much of his sense of smell and taste. The man from Manhattan said he used the over-the-counter zinc-filled spray from 2006 to 2009. According to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court, he claims he now suffers from “anosmia,” which is a loss of taste and smell.

The suit says that the man, who lost much of his sense of smell and taste, needed it because he was the director of operations for an organization called Art Food LLC. According to the New York Daily News, the lawsuit claims that Mattrixx Initiatives should have know that studies dating back to 1937 have shown that topical applications containing zinc ions “can produce permanent anosmia.”

Personal injury attorneys in New York are questioning the advertisement strategy of the product. The company described the spray as “doctor recommended”, “safe and effective” and a “patented homeopathic” remedy. The lawsuit also claims that in the summer of 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public health warning for consumers to stop using all Zicam nasal products that contained zinc because the agency had received 130 reports of anosmia.