Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said it would stop selling its talcum-based Johnson’s baby powder in the United States and Canada as part of a broad reassessment of its consumer product portfolio.
J&J has faced tens of thousands of lawsuits from consumers claiming its talc products, including the instantly recognizable brand of Johnson’s Baby Powder, caused their cancer, but J&J said it remains confident in the product’s safety and intends to continue to defend its goods in the courtroom.
It also intends to continue selling baby powder containing talc in other markets around the world and will continue selling cornstarch-based baby powder in the North American market.
The company said demand for talc-based baby powder in the US has been declining. In March it decided to stop shipping hundreds of items of the controversial product line.
Last October the company voluntarily recalled a batch of its baby powder after US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators found trace amounts of asbestos in the product. The company said 33,000 bottles of talcum powder would be recalled “out of an abundance of caution”.
The recall came amid thousands of lawsuits alleging the company knew its baby powder was contaminated with asbestos, a carcinogen. Johnson & Johnson strenuously denied the claims. It was the first time the company had recalled its leading baby powder product.
Baby powder makes up around 0.5% of Johnson & Johnson’s total US consumer health business.
Although pediatricians have advised against using talcum powder on infants for decades, arguing there is a risk of inhalation and infection to babies, talcum powder has remained one of Johnson & Johnson’s best-known household staples. The product is made from pure talc, a mineral which often appears in veins alongside asbestos in the earth.
Concerns have also been raised about the health impacts of talc itself. For decades, talc was routinely used as a dry lubricant in condoms and latex gloves, until physicians raised health concerns about talc, particularly for women.
In a series of investigations by the New York Times and Reuters, internal documents from Johnson & Johnson revealed some company executives worried about the talcum products, including possible asbestos contamination, further government regulation and public backlash over health concerns.
