Johnson & Johnson to Halt U.S. Sales of Talc-Based Baby Powder, an Industrial Info Market Brief

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Johnson & Johnson's iconic baby powder has gone from nursery staple to the focus of nearly 20,000 lawsuits claiming a link between its talc-based powder and cancer. While the company will continue to sell the cornstarch version in the U.S., the product in question will no longer be available. Despite losing a number of lawsuits, including one in 2018 awarding $4.7 billion to 22 women, the company has won others. While discontinuing the product, the company is not implying liability, claiming "talc-based baby powder that was contaminated with asbestos were the result of flaws in the process of scientific inquiry."

In October 2019, Johnson & Johnson recalled about 33,000 bottles of baby powder in the U.S. after U.S. health regulators found trace amounts of asbestos in samples taken from a bottle purchased online. Since 2003, talc in the powder sold in the U.S. has come from China through supplier Imerys Talc America, a unit of Paris-based Imerys SA. Johnson & Johnson will continue to sell the talc-based powder outside of the U.S.

Industrial Info is tracking 33 Johnson & Johnson plants in the U.S. Click here for a list and see map below.