Johnson's Baby Powder is Safe Says Company Chairman
Johnson & Johnson is coming under fire from governments, consumers, the media and now their investors over the safety of the iconic Johnson's Baby Powder
Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - Even a $5 billion jury award pales in comparison to a nearly $50 billion decline in a company's stock market capitalization. That was exactly what happened the day after investors got wind that key executives at Johnson & Johnson have known for years that the talc supply in the company's cosmetics may have contained asbestos. Investors immediately dumped the stock wiping out years of gains and costing the company nearly $50 billion in market capitalization, almost 10% of the total value of the company. If there is any truth in the memos passed between Johnson top executives, and now being circulated to the media, stating the company's intent to cover up the talc/asbestos findings, the stock's current decline could be just the tip of the iceberg. The stock closed the day at $130 per share. The stock's plummet has forced a response from the company's CEO Alex Gorsky eager to alleviate investor's fears. Talcum powder ovarian cancer warning from medical experts warn consumers about the regular dusting of talcum powder and its risks.
Gorsky is featured in national advertisements where he categorically and definitively states that the talc used in Johnson's Baby Powder and other products does not contain asbestos and never has. Gorsky reassures consumers that Johnson's Baby Powder is completely safe. According to Fox Business, "he (Gorsky ) cites tens of thousands of studies that have proventalc does not cause cancer or asbestos-related disease. Gorsky also referenced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, (FDA) and other global regulators, have continually proven the product to be asbestos-free. Despite the appeal, however, shares remain under pressure for the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant." Gorsky goes on to assert that the company has recently been successful in overturning jury awards in two of three cases against them and is appealing the current $4.69 billion jury award against them. What Gorsky conveniently left out was that the jury awards were overturned on jurisdictional issues, not on the merits or lack thereof of the evidence against the company. That fact and the actual texts of the company memos are sure to play out in courts of law around the world in 2019 as there have been over 10,000 lawsuits filed against the company.
Mainstream media outlets recently published attention-grabbing stories that support the jury verdicts that have found that Johnson's Baby Powder talc has in the past contained asbestos and that JNJ company executives knew of this fact. It is well-known that talc is a mineral that occurs naturally in the earth and is mined around the world in close proximity to asbestos mines and the potential for cross-contamination is high, especially in countries with relatively lax environmental standards. Johnson's co-defendant in a number of cases is Imreys Inc., the company's talc supplier. Imrey's has talc mines in the United States, China and beyond.
Of all of the media coverage, the New York Times article stands out for reporting that executives at Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) were aware as early as 1971 that their talc contained trace particles of asbestos and addressed the issue on three separate occasions. The Times acquired the internal JNJ memos using the Freedom of Information Act. Attorneys at JNJ were concerned that their talc might contain an unacceptably high level of asbestos and wanted their supplies tested so as to stay below the legal threshold. When the level of talc was estimated officials at JNJ were determined to use their influence at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to bury the findings.
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