NEW YORK, June 11 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ )

has agreed to pay $700 million to settle an investigation by 42

U.S. states and Washington, D.C. into its marketing of baby

powder and other products that contained talc.

The settlement resolves charges that Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ )

misled consumers into believing the talc products, which it sold

for more than a century before discontinuing sales, were safe

when it knew they were linked to cancer.

J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder globally last

year, switching to corn starch as the main ingredient. It has

said its talc products are safe and do not contain

cancer-causing asbestos.

The settlement does not resolve thousands of individual

lawsuits over talc products, or a class action lawsuit accusing

the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company of fraudulently

hiding the truth about its talc products from shareholders.