Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced Thursday that it will stop selling talc-containing baby powder worldwide by 2023. The company, which sued cancer patients who claimed talc was contaminated with asbestos, has stopped using the ingredient in states United States and Canada two years ago.
J&J assures that talc is safe and has been proven by decades of scientific research. It also indicates the regulatory approval of the product. However, the company has now decided to switch to baby powder made from cornstarch worldwide.
From searching by Reuters In 2018, it turned out that J&J had known for decades that there were potentially carcinogenic traces of asbestos in its talcum powder. The US company is said to have paid scientists to publish positive research on the product.
The talc that J&J uses is mined and often found in the same layers of asbestos. In 2018, the company was ordered to pay billions of dollars to 22 women who said the asbestos in talcum powder caused them to develop ovarian cancer. There are about 38,000 lawsuits pending against J&J over talcum powder.
In 2018, the Dutch Consumer Product and Food Safety Authority (NVWA) found no reason to investigate J&J baby powder. That year, the regulator checked 296 cosmetics for the presence of asbestos, including children’s “body powders.” Traces of asbestos fibers are found only in blush and eye shadow. The health risks of this were “limited”.
