The end of the talc era: the Johnson Johnson company will stop marketing the powder that was suspected to be carcinogenic

Following 38,000 lawsuits against it, and two years after it stopped marketing the talc in North America, next year the company will take the powder off the shelves around the world, and switch to a product based only on cornflour.

Although the plaintiffs were awarded billions in damages, the company continues to insist that the nostalgic telco is safe

news agencies

12/08/2022

Friday, August 12, 2022, 06:53 Updated: 06:57

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share by email

• Share in general

• Comments

  Comments

safe or cancerous?

Johnson's talk to Johnson (Photo: Reuters)

Those who grew up on Johnson Johnson's talcum powder will soon have to settle for nostalgia, or a substitute made from cornflour.

The global corporation announced last night (Thursday) that starting in 2023, talc will be removed from the shelves in all countries.

This is about two years after it stopped marketing the product in the United States and Canada, following tens of thousands of lawsuits filed against it.

"As part of a reassessment of our portfolio around the world, we have reached a commercial decision to switch to a baby powder made entirely of cornflour," the company said in a statement.

The decision to stop marketing the talc in North America was due to a significant drop in sales of the product, following what the company called "misinformation" about the safety of the product.

According to the information that was circulated, and which the company claims has no merit, the talc was contaminated with asbestos dust, a substance known to be an extremely dangerous carcinogen.

38,000 lawsuits were filed against the company by consumers who claimed they were harmed by the asbestos in the company's products.

In the United States, the company took the talc off the shelves already two years ago (Photo: ShutterStock)

The company denied the allegations against it, and brought as evidence scientific tests conducted for decades, and regulatory approvals according to which their powder was asbestos-free.

Yesterday, with its announcement of the cessation of product marketing, it repeated these claims.

In lawsuits against the company, large amounts of compensation were awarded to the plaintiffs.

In one case, two billion dollars in damages were awarded to a group of 22 women.

But the company transferred the claims to its subsidiary in October, which immediately went bankrupt.

An investigation conducted by the Reuters news agency found in 2018 that the Johnson & Johnson company had known for decades about the presence of asbestos in talc.

According to the company's internal records, between 1971 and the early 2000s, test results indicated the discovery of asbestos in small amounts in talc.

The company began marketing the talc in 1894, and the powder became part of its family-friendly image.

In an internal company presentation in 1999, it was announced that Johnson's baby products division, centered on talc, was the company's "No. 1 asset," even though talc accounted for only about 0.5 percent of its revenue when the company took it off the shelves.

good to know (in advance)

Due to growing demand for effective pain treatment: B-Cure laser in a special sale

Served on behalf of B Cure Laser

• news

• world news

• America

Tags

• talcum powder

• asbestos

• asbestos