Baby Powders and the Precautionary Principle

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 110; no. 9; pp. 1378 - 1379
• Main Authors: Rosner, David, Markowitz, Gerald
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington American Public Health Association 01.09.2020
• Subjects: AJPH s; Asbestos; Asbestos industry; Conflicts of interest; Contaminants; Decades; Environment; Ethics; Federal regulation; History; Litigation; Lung cancer; Mesothelioma; Occupational Health; Ovarian cancer; Precautionary principle; Principles; Profits; Public health; Social Science; Talc; Trace contaminants; Women's Health
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305839

On May 19, 2020, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced that it would discontinue the sale of talc-based Baby Powder in the United States. The announcement pointed to decline in demand because of "misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising" (https://bit.ly/2YcWh7s). While J&J would continue selling talc-based powder in Europe, North Americans would now only be sold a product based on cornstarch. For many decades, cornstarch or talc have been the prime ingredient in this signature product.1,2 But, in recent years, their talc-based powders have been the subject of lawsuits alleging that women and children who had been exposed to talc either as infants or while powdering after showers have developed mesotheliomas and ovarian cancers decades later. The lawsuits allege that their disease was caused by talc contaminated by asbestos, often in trace amounts.