Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday that it will stop selling talc-based baby powder internationally in 2023, more than two years after it stopped selling the product in the United States.
‘As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to move to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio’ the company said, adding that cornstarch-based baby powder is already available in nations worldwide.
J&J stated in 2020 that it would discontinue distributing its talc Baby Powder in the United States and Canada due to a drop in demand caused by what it called ‘misinformation’ about the product’s safety, amid a torrent of legal challenges.
The firm is facing about 38,000 claims from consumers and their survivors alleging that their talc products caused cancer owing to asbestos exposure, a proven carcinogen.
J&J denies the allegations, claiming that decades of scientific testing and regulatory approvals have demonstrated that its talc is safe and free of asbestos. It reiterated the assertion on Thursday when it announced the product’s discontinuance.
In October, J&J set up subsidiary LTL Management, allocated its talc claims to it, and soon declared bankruptcy, putting the pending cases on hold. Those suing argue that Johnson & Johnson should be required to defend itself in the cases, while defendants of J&J and the bankrupt subsidiary process argue that it is an equitable means to compensate claimants.
According to Ben Whiting, an attorney with the plaintiffs firm Keller Postman, the company’s selling decision will not have an immediate impact on the claims because they are stopped in bankruptcy. If a federal appeals court allows the claims to proceed, consumers may try to use Johnson & Johnson’s decision to discontinue the products as evidence, according to Whiting.
“If these lawsuits go through, it will be a huge problem,” Whiting added.
Prior to the bankruptcy filing, the corporation faced over $3.5 billion in verdicts and settlements, including one in which 22 women were awarded more than $2 billion in damages, according to bankruptcy court papers.
In April, a shareholder resolution to halt global sales of talc baby powder failed.
According to a 2018 Reuters investigation, J&J knew for decades that asbestos, a carcinogen, was included in its talc products. Internal corporate documents, trial testimony, and other evidence revealed that J&J’s raw talc and finished powders occasionally tested positive for trace quantities of asbestos from at least 1971 through the early 2000s.
J&J has repeatedly asserted that their talc products are safe and do not cause cancer in response to evidence of asbestos contamination given in media reports, courtrooms, and on Capitol Hill.
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