Johnson & Johnson Should Admit Talc May Contain Asbestos
Reuters and the FDA have both sent messages that the handwriting is on the wall and J&J should warn consumers that Johnson's Baby Powder may contain asbestos, a known carcinogen
Monday, May 20, 2019 - An investigative report published in December 2018 reveals internal company documents that demonstrate that executives at Johnson & Johnson were aware of the presence of asbestos fibers in their Italian talc supply and then lied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about what they knew. Internal company memos procured by Reuters demonstrate that Johnson & Johnson fought efforts by the FDA to improve the sensitivity of testing for asbestos in talc that the company was using. In the 1970s the FDA acknowledged that asbestos was carcinogenic and that leading international health agencies such as the World Health Organization considered no amount of asbestos safe. Johnson & Johnson has been successful in stonewalling the FDA's asbestos testing recommendations to this day and still tests talc for only one part of asbestos in one hundred instead of the FDA's recommendation of one part in ten, a ten-fold increase in sensitivity that would reveal smaller concentrations. The FDA has always been concerned with the presence of asbestos in talc yet the cosmetics industry in which Johnson & Johnson is the leader has evaded restrictions or regulations. Talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuits handled by national attorneys offer a free no obligation free consultation to families and individuals before filing a claim.
In order to perhaps send a message to Johnson & Johnson that it needs to clean up its act regarding talcum powder asbestos testing, The FDA recently followed up on reports by independent labs that found asbestos fibers such as tremolite in cosmetic products sold to teenage girls through Clair's, a national retail chain, by conducting tests of their own. The agency discovered that talc-based cosmetics sold by Clair's stores contained dangerously high levels of asbestos. According to ABC 7 News "Samples of Claire's eye shadows batch no./lot no. 08/17, compact powder batch no./lot no. 07/15 and contour palette batch no./lot no. 04/17 all tested positive for tremolite asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral often found in the earth near talc, an ingredient in many makeup products. Talc can become contaminated with asbestos while being mined, according to the FDA. " Prior to that, the FDA has for decades disagreed with Johnson & Johnson as to the amount of asbestos that is harmful and the quality of their methods of testing. The Reuter's investigation found that "Most internal J&J asbestos test reports Reuters reviewed do not find asbestos. However, while J&J's testing methods improved over time, they have always had limitations that allow trace contaminants to go undetected - and only a tiny fraction of the company's talc is tested."
The facts about Johnson & Johnson's failure to self-regulate and warn consumers about the dangers of asbestos being present in talc has not gone unnoticed by jurors tasked with holding the company accountable. A Missouri jury recently awarded 22 women a total of $4.609 billion for ovarian cancer they allegedly developed from regularly using Johnson's Baby Powder for most of their adult life for the purposes of feminine hygiene. The award was divided into $550m in compensation and an additional $4.1bn in punitive damages which is under appeal and could likely be reduced. There are over 11,000 cases against Johnson & Johnson pending and as of this writing, the company has settled the last three for an undisclosed amount of money the plaintiff's attorneys have said were the amounts the plaintiffs were asking for.
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