A Global Ban On Johnson's Baby Powder Could Be In The Works

Around 200 non-profit groups are calling for a global ban on Johnson's Baby Powder

Thursday, September 24, 2020 - Talc is one of, if not the softest mineral on earth, and has properties of promoting smoothness, dryness, and absorbing pleasant fragrances. Johnson & Johnson made billions of dollars selling talc-based baby powder for nearly a century to women and mothers all over the world. Johnson's Baby Powder was promoted as being pure and safe enough to be used on your baby and also to be used by women themselves for feminine hygiene in between showers. It has been revealed recently that Johnson's Baby Powder is contaminated with asbestos and the company has been accused of covering up what they knew about their iconic brand of baby powder containing the known carcinogen. Johnson & Johnson decided to discontinue selling baby powder in North America after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested and found asbestos in baby powder samples purchased at retail stores in the US. The company's actions did not constitute a recall, and the product will remain on store shelves while supplies last. Many human health organizations feel that Johnson & Johson's actions and the FDA's inaction do not sufficiently address the threat the asbestos-contaminated product places on human health and are calling for Johnson's Baby Powder to be banned globally. For a free consultation with no obligation to file a claim against Johnson and Johnson, contact an experienced national talcum powder attorney with a winning track record litigating against big corporations and pharmaceutical companies can help.

Mesothelioma.com cited that around 200 non-profit organizations have joined forces to promote a global Johnson's Baby Powder ban. Two of the most powerful of the group are the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), and Black Women for Wellness (BWW). The ADAO writes, "The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), alongside nearly 200 organizations from 51 different countries, signed onto the letter to Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky urging the company to stop all sales of their asbestos-contaminated talc-based baby powder." The ADAO notes that around 200,000 people worldwide die each year from asbestos-related diseases and that 70 countries have banned asbestos. The letter that was sent to J&J Chairman Gorsky can be best summed up by Monica Unseld, Ph. D, MPH, founder of Data for Justice; "Now is the time for Johnson & Johnson to demonstrate its commitment to health equity beyond public statements. This means stopping the targeting of Black and Brown communities with toxic products," according to the ADAO.

The human rights groups are outraged that Johnson & Johnson may be employing the same strategy today to sell baby powder as it did in the 1970s when asbestos first came on the scene. Internal Johnson & Johnson memos revealed in recent court cases against them reveal the company address what they called their asbestos problem and decided to focus their toiletry advertising to targeting African American women who they thought represented an uninformed consumer demographic. In general, African American women were told that in so many words and images, that if they used Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products they would smell nice like other women and thereby elevate their social status. Black women groups think the company is doing the same today by targeting black and brown women in India and Latin America.