J&J to end sales of talc-based powder worldwide in 2023
New York City, US, Aug 11 (EFE).- Johnson & Johnson will next year end the sale of its talc-based Baby Powder globally, the company said Thursday, two years after doing so in North America and amid tens of thousands of ongoing product safety lawsuits.
“As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio,” it said in a statement.
“As a result of this transition, talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder will be discontinued globally in 2023.”
The company faces at least 38,000 lawsuits from people claiming their cancer was caused by J&J’s talc-based products due to contamination with asbestos, a known carcinogen.
J&J continues to deny the allegations.
“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,” the firm said Thursday.
The company faces other legal problems in the US and, along with three major drug distributors, agreed earlier this year to pay billions of dollars over their roles in the country’s deadly opioid crisis. EFE
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