Johnson & Johnson's Reprehensible Corporate Conduct Is Much Worse Than Thought At First

The conglomerate knew for decades that asbestos, a deadly carcinogen, contaminated their talc supply

Thursday, January 25, 2024 - At the center of more than 55,000 talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson is the lottery-like punitive damages that juries in the past have awarded plaintiffs. In one landmark court case, 22 women with ovarian cancer alleged their disease was caused by using Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower brands regularly and for many years, on their genitals after and in between showers. Johnson & Johnson has been punished for its "reprehensible corporate behavior". One Missouri Appellate judge stated: "We find there was significant reprehensibility in Defendants' conduct, including evidence that Defendants discussed the presence of asbestos in their talc in internal memoranda for several decades; avoided adopting more accurate measures for detecting asbestos and influenced the industry to do the same; attempted to discredit those scientists publishing studies unfavorable to their Products; and did not eliminate talc from the Products and use cornstarch instead because it would be more costly to do so." according to PR Newswire.com. The US Right To Know (USRTK) discovered that The University of California, San Francisco has investigated what Johnson & Johnson knew and when they knew it and as a result published the Talc Litigation Collection late last year ... a collection of about 3500 documents that show Johnson & Johnson knew about the presence of carcinogenic levels of asbestos in talc and did nothing to warn about talcum powder cancer.

To make matters worse, in 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested samples of Johnson's Baby Powder purchased from retailers like Walmart, CVS, and Rite Aid and found the presence of asbestos. The FDA's commitment to rigorous testing was notably underscored when asbestos was found in certain cosmetic products from Claire's, a popular retailer targeting a younger demographic. In 2019, the agency issued a safety alert after detecting asbestos in three cosmetic products sold by Claire's -- two of which were talc-based powders and one was a contour palette. This discovery prompted swift action from the FDA, leading to a voluntary recall of the contaminated products by Claire's. The specific identification of asbestos in items marketed to a younger audience raised concerns about potential health risks, emphasizing the importance of thorough and random testing across all cosmetic brands, irrespective of their target demographic. Multiple sources including USRTK have pointed out that Johnson & Johnson struggled to find a way to rebrand baby powder once asbestos was determined to be carcinogenic and settled on targeting Black women in the southern, humid, US states because they were deemed to be a less well-informed demographic unaware of the asbestos-cancer connection. USRTK said, " Internal J&J documents suggest that it ramped up its marketing to African American women and other "key target audiences" as health concerns grew and consumer demand dropped for talc-based baby powder. " Internal J & J documents revealed at trial say that the company considered African American and Hispanic women as an opportunity to "grow the franchise."

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