Legal proceedings - Narrative (Details) $ in Millions		1 Months Ended							12 Months Ended
	Apr. 24, 2023 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2021 USD ($) entity	Sep. 30, 2021 claimant cases	Jun. 30, 2021 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2023 USD ($) claimant claim	Sep. 30, 2023 cases	May 31, 2023 cases	Jul. 04, 2021 USD ($)	May 31, 2021 cases claimant
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Number of new entities created | entity		3
Loss contingency, payment period	25 years
Bankruptcy loss contingency, discount rate	4.41%
Talc
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Product liability contingency, number of claimants | claimant									59,140
Opioid
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Product liability contingency, number of claimants | claimant									3,500
Amount reserved for settlement												$ 5,000.0
Loss contingency accrual, payment percentage												60.00%
Loss contingency accrual, payments									$ 700.0
Number of pending claims | claim									35
Remaining pending claims | claim									430
Additional pending claims | claim									4
Physiomesh
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Product liability contingency, number of claimants | claimant									370
Judicial Ruling
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Damages awarded						$ 6.8	$ 8,000.0
Pending Litigation | Physiomesh
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Product liability contingency, number of claimants | claimant													4,300
Number of pending claims | cases													3,600
Number of claims within settlement agreement | cases										3,729	292
Claims dismissed | cases			3,390
Pending Litigation | Ethicon
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Product liability contingency, number of claimants | claimant			3,584
DePuy ASR U.S. | Settled Litigation
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Number of patients in settlement | claimant									10,000
Baby Powder | Talc
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Reserve established		$ 2,000.0
Reserve established within trust, total	$ 9,000.0
Reserve established within trust, nominal value	$ 12,000.0
Reserve established within trust, liability									33.00%
Ingham vs. Johnson & Johnson
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Damages awarded					$ 2,100.0			$ 4,700.0
Loss contingency, damages paid, value				$ 2,500.0
MDL | Pending Litigation | Physiomesh
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Number of pending claims | claim									5
MCL | Pending Litigation | Physiomesh
Legal Proceeding (Textuals)
Number of pending claims | claim									3