Johnson & Johnson Continues To Sell Baby Powder Abroad

Demand for the iconic cosmetic powder remains high in India but Indian health officials are becoming increasingly suspicious

Friday, June 12, 2020 - Johnson & Johnson's announcement last month that it will permanently stop selling their iconic brand Johnson's Baby Powder because of the adverse publicity surrounding the product containing carcinogenic asbestos is considered by attorneys that represent baby powder cancer victims a step in the right direction but also is "too little and too late." Johnson & Johnson has not and will not recall the talc-based baby powder products from store shelves and is instead going to allow the remainder of the product that remains there and in their inventory to be sold at retail outlets until the supply is exhausted, outraging thousands of plaintiffs that have filed legal claims alleging that talc, the active ingredient in Johnson's Baby Powder contains asbestos, a known carcinogen. The company claims that their decision to discontinue selling Johnson's Baby Powder was due to a Covid19-related portfolio assessment which included over 100 other products the company will discontinue and is more due to a decline in sales based on changing consumer demand than it is an admission of the baby powder's health safety concerns. According to the company website: "Demand for talc-based Johnson's Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising." Talcum powder cancer lawsuits are handled by top national attorneys with a winning track record litigating pharmaceutical lawsuits against big corporations and offer a free consultation.

Although the company is discontinuing sales in the United States and Canada overseas markets such as the lucrative market in India where demand for the product is high will remain open for business. In 2018, India suspended sales of Johnson's Baby Powder when a Reuters article in the US alerted Indian health officials that the product may be asbestos-contaminated. Johnson's Baby Powder returned to the Indian market after less than two months of analysis because Indian health authority tests could not detect asbestos. The US Food and Drug Administration, however, recently tested and found asbestos in samples of Johnson's Baby powder and India has again renewed their concerns over the product's consumer safety profile. Johnson & Johnson continues to stand by their claim that they have had their talc supply thoroughly tested by independent testing labs that have determined that the product is safe, pure, and asbestos-free.

Although nearly 20,000 lawsuits have been filed alleging Johnson's Baby Powder talc caused their ovarian cancer or mesothelioma, most consumers continue to be unaware of the alleged life-threatening nature of the product and assume that if the product is for sale that it must be safe. To briefly explain the current situation, Johnson's Baby Powder has been accused of causing ovarian cancer by women who have used the product on themselves for feminine hygiene. Lawyers for the plaintiffs with ovarian cancer argue that particles of talc have been excised from cancerous tissues of women who have died from the disease after using the product regularly for their lifetimes. Ovarian cancer claims make up roughly three quarters of all cancer claims against the company and the other five thousand or so plaintiffs are both men and women that have developed mesothelioma, a rare and deadly form of cancer of the lining of the lungs from a lifetime of inhaling talcum powder dust fumes.