Top News

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is once again under scrutiny as more than 3,000 people have filed a lawsuit in London, alleging that the company’s talc-based baby powder caused cancer. The legal action, brought by KP Law, seeks over £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in compensation, the firm announced on Thursday.



According to The Guardian, the claim alleges that Johnson & Johnson was aware as early as the 1960s that its talc contained dangerous levels of asbestos but failed to warn consumers. Despite the known risks, the company continued selling the product in the UK until 2023. The mineral-based talcum powder reportedly contained fibrous forms of talc along with tremolite and actinolite, both classified as asbestos, minerals known to cause cancers such as mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.




Internal company documents cited in several reports suggest that Johnson & Johnson was aware of the potential health hazards for decades. One such document quoted the company as saying:


“Our baby powder contains talc fragments classifiable as fibre. Occasionally sub-trace quantities of tremolite or actinolite are identifiable…”



What is asbestos ?



Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral long used for insulation and heat resistance in construction and manufacturing industries. However, when its microscopic fibers are inhaled or swallowed, they can lodge in the lungs and tissues, causing inflammation, scarring, and life-threatening diseases. Prolonged exposure has been directly linked to mesothelioma, lung, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers.



The mineral has been banned in more than 60 countries but continues to cause thousands of deaths annually. In the United States, asbestos exposure is linked to approximately 6,000 cancer deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and related epidemiological studies.



The US-based law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy, which handles asbestos-related cases, calls it “one of the largest human-made epidemics in history.” The firm writes: “For decades, the number of asbestos victims kept piling up. However, this crisis could’ve been prevented if asbestos companies hadn’t intentionally covered up the dangers of asbestos exposure.”



The latest lawsuit in the UK




Among the British claimants is Sue Rizzello, who believes her ovarian cancer was caused by lifelong use of talcum powder. She told The Guardian: “I’ve used talc all my life. I mean, when I was a child, everybody did. It was just always there. It was just always something you use.”



Johnson & Johnson’s talc products have been under global scrutiny for years. According to an AFP report citing KP Law, the company withdrew its talc-based baby powder from the North American market in 2020, three years before discontinuing sales in the UK in 2023.



In July 2024, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified talc as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” However, a 2020 analysis involving 250,000 women in the U.S. found no statistical link between the use of talc on the genitals and ovarian cancer risk.