J&J knew about asbestos in its baby powder

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE: According to Reuter’s investigation report, Pharmaceutical giant, Johnson and Johnson were aware of the fact since a decade that their baby powder product contains asbestos.

For a long time, there were rumours that some of it are talcum powders cause cancer for which the company was facing lawsuits, but now according to the investigation report, documents and other evidence that indicate company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers knew about the problem and failed to disclose it to regulators or the public.

In a major setback to the company was when St. Louis jury in July had awarded nearly $4.7 billion in total damages to 22 women and their families after they claimed asbestos in Johnson & Johnson talcum powder contributed to their ovarian cancer in the first case against the company that focused on asbestos in the powder.

The jury had also announced the $4.14 billion award in disciplinary damages after awarding $550 million in compensatory damages after a six-week trial in St. Louis Circuit Court. J&J had vowed to file an appeal against its verdict.

The report also stated that, “From at least 1971 to the early 2000s, the company’s raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos, and that company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers fretted over the problem and how to address it while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public.”