J&J To Stop Baby Powder Sales In 2023

J&J To Stop Baby Powder Sales In 2023

Introduction

Johnson & Johnson announced on Thursday that it will cease selling talc-based baby powder internationally in 2023, more than two years after it stopped selling the product in the United States, which prompted hundreds of consumer safety lawsuits.

The company has decided to migrate to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio as part of a global portfolio evaluation, adding that cornstarch-based baby powder is currently available in many nations throughout the world.

As a result of what it termed "misinformation" about the product's safety and a torrent of legal challenges, J&J said in 2020 that it would cease selling its talc Baby Powder in the United States and Canada. About 38,000 lawsuits have been filed against the corporation by consumers and the survivors of those who have died from cancer, alleging that asbestos, a proven carcinogen, was included in the talc goods.

J&J disputes the claims, claiming that years of governmental approvals and scientific research have established the safety and absence of asbestos in their talc. It reaffirmed the assertion while announcing the product's discontinuance on Thursday. The talc litigation was put on hold when the business split off its subsidiary LTL Management in October, transferred its talc claims to it, and then promptly declared it bankrupt.

According to bankruptcy court records, the business had to pay out $3.5 billion in judgments and settlements prior to declaring bankruptcy, including one where 22 women received a judgment of more than $2 billion. According to a 2018 inquiry, J&J has long known that its talc products contained asbestos, a known carcinogen. Internal corporate documents, trial testimony, and other evidence revealed that J&J's finished powders and raw talc occasionally tested positive for trace levels of asbestos from at least 1971 through the early 2000s. J&J has consistently argued that its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer in response to evidence of asbestos contamination that has been presented in media stories, in court, and on Capitol Hill.