
This spilled bottle of baby powder looks harmless, but it could contain deadly asbestos.
Are Johnson baby products banned? No. Johnson & Johnson baby products are not banned in the USA; however, other countries have made the decision to ban these products.
Johnson & Johnson Baby Product Bans
Johnson & Johnson’s iconic baby powder has always been a fixture within children’s nurseries throughout the United States for decades. As a way to absorb moisture, parents used Johnson & Johnson baby powder and relied on the safety and efficacy of the product.
According to Reuters, in the 1970s researchers and scientists determined that the main ingredient in Johnson & Johnson baby powder, talc, also often contains the mineral asbestos, which is a cancer-causing agent. As a result, the European Union banned talc-containing products such as Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder, and that was not the only product that has been affected. For example, in 2019 Johnson baby soap was banned in India after questions about the ingredients in the product.
Despite the fact that so many consumers are wondering why Johnson and Johnson is banned, the truth is Johnson & Johnson baby products were not banned in the USA. In fact, consumers can still go to the stores and purchase Johnson & Johnson baby products containing talc, or other baby products containing talc from different manufacturers, at least for the near future.
Discontinuation of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder
While the stores continue to sell Johnson & Johnson baby powder, and will do so until they run out, the company Johnson & Johnson made a formal announcement that they would completely stop manufacturing and distributing Johnsons and Johnsons baby powder as of May 12, 2020.
In a formal statement from the company, Johnson & Johnson indicated that “Decades of scientific studies by medical experts around the world support the safety of our product. We will continue to vigorously defend the product, its safety, and the unfounded allegations against it and the Company in the courtroom.” Once the shelves run out of the Johnson products containing talc, consumers will no longer have the opportunity to purchase these products.
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Johnson & Johnson Baby Products and Asbestos-Related Cancers
Talc is a soft mineral that poses a low risk of danger to consumers when used for moisture absorption and to prevent chafing. However, the mineral talc is always located in the ground near pockets of asbestos. When the extraction of talc from mines takes place, there is often cross-contamination between these two minerals in the Earth, and talc, therefore, contains asbestos particles.
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), asbestos is a known carcinogen, and exposure to this mineral increases the risk of a person developing mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, peritoneal cancer, testicular cancer, lung cancer, or larynx
Johnson & Johnson Lawsuits
It remains unclear why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) never banned Johnson & Johnson baby products from the USA even though there was a direct link between talc and asbestos. However, although the Johnson & Johnson baby products were never banned in the USA, victims sought justice through the courts to receive compensation for their development of cancers related to asbestos following their use of Johnson & Johnson baby products.
Johnson & Johnson continues to maintain the safety and efficacy of their baby powder products, even though research has continued to prove a connection between talc and asbestos. Victims of asbestos exposure may have an increased risk of the development of mesothelioma, peritoneal cancer, ovarian cancer, testicular cancer, larynx cancer, or lung cancer.
While Johnson & Johnson continue to maintain that their products are safe, even to this day, their internal documents paint a different picture. These internal documents from decades ago prove that Johnson & Johnson executives knew that their baby products contained asbestos and failed to warn the public and their consumers of this discovery.
When the public finally discovered the connection between talc and asbestos, victims suffering from asbestos-related cancers began to file lawsuits to receive justice and compensation for their injuries. To date, courts have forced Johnson & Johnson to pay out billions to victims that used their baby products and consequently developed cancers related to asbestos exposure.
The LA Times reports that in one case alone, a jury granted $4.7 billion dollars in damages to 22 victims. Juries appear convinced that the acts of Johnson & Johnson rose to an egregious level, and continue to grant victims large punitive awards as well, in an attempt to punish the company for having the knowledge that a carcinogen was in their product and failing to warn the public.
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Johnson & Johnson Lawsuit Updates for 2021
Since Johnson & Johnson announced they planned to stop manufacturing talcum-based baby powder in May of 2020, the manufacturer has seen its share of defeats in court. In October 2020, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $100 million in a baby powder settlement. In November, the manufacturer also failed to overturn a $2.2 billion verdict, which they planned to appeal.
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Learn How We Can Help You Today
If you, or a loved one, developed any of the cancers mentioned above, or any health-related challenges that you believe are directly related to your use of Johnson & Johnson baby powder, you may have the legal right to pursue a claim and receive justice as well as compensation for your injuries. Learn how we can help you by contacting the Pintas & Mullins Law Firm and visiting with our legal team for a free consultation regarding your case.
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