On April 27, 2007, a deputy US marshal from West Virginia filed a lawsuit against Matrixx Initiatives, the manufacturer of the popular cold remedy Zicam, because he claims the drug caused him to lose his sense of smell.

William L. Seckman, 42, works in and around Charleston, West Virginia and says he relies on his sense of smell to detect methamphetamine labs. Working labs have a distinctive odor that has been compared to ammonia or rotten eggs. Seckman began using Zicam over-the-counter cold spray in November 2006. He claims in his lawsuit that since then, his sense of smell and taste are not as perceptive.

More than 400 other similar product liability lawsuits have been filed against defendants Matrixx Initiatives and its subsidiary Zicam LLC since October 2003. They deny the claims presented in the Zicam lawsuits, but settled 340 lawsuits in 2006 for $12 million. Company officials said the settlements were not an admission of product liability, but were made because it was good business sense.

When used properly, company officials claim, Zicam does not result in users’ loss of smell, a condition known as anosmia. In 2004, the company studied the claims of users of Zicam who had contracted anosmia and concluded that they lacked scientific merit. Instead, Zicam LLC maintains the causes of anosmia are upper respiratory tract infection and nasal and sinus disease rather than a defect in their product.

According to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, “None of the Zicam gel approaches the smell tissue when Zicam is used as directed, and there is only scant and questionable evidence that even trace amounts can reach the upper nasal cavity when the product is egregiously misused.”

Source: “Deputy marshal in W. Va. Sues Zicam maker over loss of smell,” Insurance Journal, May 23, 2007.