Johnson & Johnson Always Knew About Asbestos in Its Baby Powder

A Reuters report accuses the company of deliberately hiding tests that show presence of asbestos in its baby powder.

Johnson & Johnson is in for trouble. 

(Photo courtesy: iStockphoto)

One of the leading names in baby care products, Johnson &Johnson has been facing constant backlash for its products and implants. A recent investigation by Reuters only added more heat to the fire, leading to more questions and suspicion over the reliability and safety of the company’s baby care products.

The report claimed that the company’s powder, a popular item, was contaminated by carcinogenic asbestos, making it poisonous and life-threatening for women using it on themselves. The main allegation, however, was that Johnson & Johnson knew this all along but decide to hide it.

Internal documents examined by Reuters show that the company’s powder was sometimes tainted with carcinogenic asbestos and that J&J kept that information from regulators and the public.

Today, around 11,700 plaintiffs have accused the company’s talc of causing their cancer, while since as early as 1972, different tests by labs had already found asbestos in the talc, information that the company hid from the FDA.

Johnson & Johnson always denied the claim. When the company’s internal company records were forced to be made available to lawyers fighting for the women, Reuters got access to them and found evidence.

From at least 1971 to the early 2000s, the company’s raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos, and that company executives,mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers fretted over the problem and how to address it while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public.

Adding on to the claims, the report also revealed that there were successful efforts by the company to influence US regulators’ plans to limit asbestos in cosmetic talc products and scientific research on the health effects of talc.

Strategically, the company produced only a small portion of the documents at trial and to the media, shielding many others from public view by terming them ‘confidential’.

Johnson & Johnson Denies Claims

The baby-product manufacturer continues to deny all claims.

As reported by Chicago Tribune, the company attorneys told Reuters that the results that revealed the presence of asbestos were actually from the talc batches meant for industrial uses, not for baby powder.

Thousands of independent tests by regulators and the world’s leading labs prove our baby powder has never contained asbestos. 

Johnson & Johnson

Notably, the company’s stock price fell by over 10 percent on Friday after the Reuters report.