Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its baby talcum powder worldwide by 2023. The company says it has been troubled by the legal battle. The company's powder has already been discontinued a year ago in the US and Canada.
It was alleged that this baby powder causes cancer and after this thousands of cases were filed against the company in May 2020 worldwide. Not only this, there was a huge drop in the sales of the product after the cancer apprehension report came to the fore. Now the company will replace the talc-based powder with cornstarch-based powder.
Talc is a naturally occurring mineral that is extracted from the earth. It contains magnesium, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Chemically, talc is a hydrous magnesium silicate with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Talc is used in cosmetics and other personal care products. It is used to absorb moisture.
There have been allegations of cancer risk from talc. This is because from where talc is mined, asbestos is also released from there. Asbestos mica is also a naturally occurring silicate mineral, but it has a different crystal structure. It harms the body. When talc is mined, there is a risk of getting asbestos in it.
The company itself researched its powder and claimed that its baby talcum powder is safe and does not cause cancer. J&J said Thursday that it has made a "commercial decision" to use cornstarch instead of talcum powder for all of its baby powder products after assessing it.
In the court filing, J&J's lawyer stated that the company has paid more than $1 billion (about Rs 7968 crore) in the last five years for litigation. According to the company's bankruptcy filing, J&J has been forced to pay around $3.5 billion (Rs 28 thousand crores) so far to settle settlement matters.
A 2018 jury ruling out of state court in St. Louis eventually forced J&J to pay $2.5 billion (Rs 20 thousand crores) to 20 women who targeted its baby powder for their ovarian cancer. did. Both the Missouri Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court refused to overturn the decision.
Johnson Baby Powder, being sold since 1894, became the company's symbol product due to being family-friendly. Since 1999, the company's internal baby products division used do its marketing representation.