Johnson and Johnson will stop sale of talc-based baby powder
(Picture: Getty Images)Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will stop selling its talc-based baby powder around the world amid lawsuits.
It comes more than two years after it ended sales of the talc powder in the US, with the company saying it will switch to a cornstarch-based version globally in 2023.
J&J faces about 38,000 lawsuits from consumers claiming its talc products caused cancer due to contamination with asbestos. Talc is found in seams close to that of asbestos.
But the company insisted even as it discontinued the talc-based product that “decades of independent scientific analysis” shows it “is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”
The company said in a statement: “Cornstarch-based Johnson’s Baby Powder is already sold in countries around the world.
“Johnson’s is a flagship global brand of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health and we remain fully committed to ensuring Johnson’s products are loved by parents and families for years to come.
“Our position on the safety of our cosmetic talc remains unchanged. We stand firmly behind the decades of independent scientific analysis by medical experts around the world that confirms talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”
J&J announced that it would stop selling the talc in the US and Canada because demand had fallen in the wake of what it called “misinformation" about the product.
A 2018 Reuters investigation claimed the company knew for decades that asbestos, a carcinogen, was sometimes present in small amounts in its talc products between at least 1971 and the early 2000s.
The firm has repeatedly denied the allegations.
In October, J&J created subsidiary LTL Management and assigned its talc claims to it.
It then placed it into bankruptcy, pausing the pending lawsuits.
