Johnson & Johnson Seems Unconcerned If Talc Contains Asbestos or Not

CEO Gorsky testified that he did not have the time to read his talc asbestos cancer memos and instead focused on running the multi-faceted international conglomerate

Thursday, February 20, 2020 - If sworn testimony given by Johnson & Johnson's CEO Alex Gorsky that he failed to personally read or address critical internal memos related to asbestos, a deadly carcinogenic mineral having contaminated the company's talc supply is to be believed, maybe the company has gotten too big for its own good. Jurors in the penalty phase of the most recent trial against the company seems to think so, and according to plaintiffs' attorneys "spoke directly to CEO Gorsky," when awarding the four plaintiffs $750 million in punitive damages for the lung cancer they developed from using and inhaling the cosmetic regularly and over decades. The plaintiff's developed mesothelioma, the signature disease of asbestos inhalation, gradually destroys the elasticity of lung tissue and causes its victims to gradually and painfully suffocate to death. Talcum powder cancer lawsuits represented by top national attorneys offer a free consultation and no obligation to file a claim.

Gorsky oversees a holding company that "engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of products in the healthcare field," according to an analysis of the company given by CNN Business. The company also has global interests in pharmaceuticals and manufactures medical devices through subsidiaries like Ethicon Inc., the maker of the failed Ethicon Physiomesh Composite hernia repair mesh that the company was forced to voluntarily withdraw from the market worldwide, and other faulty support mesh devices. The company manufactures and sells consumer products such as: "baby care, oral care, beauty, over-the-counter pharmaceutical, women's health, and wound care markets," and sells drugs designed to deal with "immunological issues, infectious diseases and vaccines, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension." Other products manufactured in the company's medical devices unit include orthopedic, surgery, cardiovascular, diabetes care, and eye health products." The company has over 135,000 employees and is the State of New Jersey's largest employer, making the jury's $750 million judgment against them all the more significant.

CEO Gorsky repeated the company's mantra that Johnson's Baby Powder Talc is safe but told jurors that he can no longer claim that the product is asbestos-free since the FDA found asbestos in bottles of Johnson's Baby Powder purchased over the internet from collectors. Johnson & Johnson spokespersons are now coming under criticism for lying to the public by uttering the laughable official statement that company-sponsored independent tests found no trace of asbestos on the same samples that the FDA used, "except a little that could have come from an old air conditioning unit in the lab where the tests were conducted." (1) Given the company's duplicity and lack of personally seeing to critical consumer health issues, it is no wonder the company's CEO is currently under a Department of Justice investigation for allegedly lying about the safety and purity of the company's cosmetic talc supply. (2) Companies like Johnson & Johnson have been given the authority to self-regulate and test for asbestos in talc for themselves but give the size and lack of taking the asbestos talc issues seriously, the FDA may be forced to assume stricter regulatory testing, approval of, and recall of all cosmetics products including Johnson's Baby Powder.