Johnson & Johnson Ignored The FDA Product Labeling Requirement When Asbestos Was First Discovered To Be A Carcinogen

Johnson & Johnson had an FDA-mandated responsibility to update the product label after finding asbestos in Johnson's Baby Powder talc.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022 - Consumers in the United States think that if a health or beauty care product is on the market it has been screened by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), made it through, and is safe to use. Some say that a contractual obligation is assumed when a consumer parts with money in exchange for a product. Indeed, the majority of consumer categories of foods we eat and drugs we need require prior testing, but for consumer cosmetics, there is another story entirely. The FDA does not require that cosmetics and beauty care products be tested. Instead, they tell companies that they must sell safe cosmetics, and there is no enforcement when a company does not. The FDA's official policy statement on the cosmetics industry is merely an exercise in pointing out the obvious. The FDA tells consumers, "FDA does not pre-approve cosmetic products or ingredients, with the important exception of color additives. However, cosmetic firms are responsible for marketing safe, properly labeled products; using no prohibited ingredients; and adhering to limits on restricted ingredients." The FDA label requirement tells companies that they are responsible for warning consumers when their active ingredient, talc, in the case of Johnson's Baby Powder, is declared by the International Agency on Research on Cancer (IARC) to be "probably carcinogenic." According to Cancer.org, "IARC classifies talc that contains asbestos as "carcinogenic to humans." the US Food and Drug Administration and several independent microscope testing labs have found asbestos in Johnson's Baby Powder made from talc. Despite the evidence to the contrary, Johnson & Johnson continues to tell the world that its talcum powder is safe, pure, and asbestos-free. Thousands of women with ovarian cancer have filed Johnson's talcum powder cancer lawsuits against the company for failing to warn them of the dangers they knew about talc containing asbestos. A Reuters investigative report titled "Johnson & Johnson Knew For Decades That Asbestos Lurked Johnson's Baby Powder," cites internal company memos revealed during the more than 20 court cases about using talcum powder and developing cancer. Johnson & Johnson have not issued a talcum powder cancer warning.

Talc is mined in open-pit operations adjacent to and vertically overlapping asbestos mines throughout the world. Inhaling talc during one's occupation as a beautician or barber has led to developing mesothelioma, a cancer of the delicate lining of the lungs. Mesothelioma.net describes the situation. "Talc can easily be contaminated with asbestos when mined. This has led to concern over exposure to contaminated talcum powder products. Asbestos in talc has been linked to mesothelioma and other cancers." SchmidtLaw.com writes about asbestos in occupational talc causing lung cancer called mesothelioma, "In October 2016, a jury awarded $18 million to a man from Los Angeles who developed mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos in Clubman Talc and other products at the barbershop where his father worked." It is obscure to think that Johnson & Johnson somehow magically procured asbestos-free talc given the evidence that separating the two is impossible.

Information provided by TalcumPowderCancerLawsuit.com, a website devoted to providing news about talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits, as well as medical research and findings.