USA- Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will stop making and selling its talc-based baby powder around the world from next year.
The US-based Pharmaceutical and healthcare company will now stop marketing and manufacturing it overseas, after ending production and sales of talc-based baby powder in the US and Canada two years ago.
This comes as consumers have filed tens of thousands of lawsuits against the healthcare company’s talc goods which they accuse of causing them to get cancer.
In 2018, 22 women claimed that Johnson & Johnson’s talc products caused them to develop ovarian cancer, and the company was sentenced to pay $4.7 billion (£3.6 billion) in damages as a result.
In addition to an original $550 million compensation award, a jury in the US state of Missouri also added $4.1 billion in punitive penalties.
The decision was made after the multinational pharmaceutical company fought over 9,000 court lawsuits regarding its renowned baby powder. J&J declared that it was “very dissatisfied” and that it would be appealing.
The corporation has, however, reaffirmed its position that years of independent research had demonstrated the product’s safety.
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.
The firm said in 2020 that it will discontinue distributing the talc-based version in North America due to a decline in demand brought on by what it called “misinformation” over the product’s safety and legal issues.
After US Food and Drug Administration regulators discovered tiny quantities of asbestos in the product, J&J voluntarily recalled a batch of its baby powder.
Out of an abundance of caution, the business announced that 33,000 bottles of talcum powder would be recalled.
Although the research is not yet solid, there have long been worries that using talcum powder, especially on the genitalia, may raise the risk of ovarian cancer.
Due to the conflicting findings, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified talc applied on the genitalia as “potentially carcinogenic.”
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.
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