14-Dec-2018: Johnson & Johnson’s History and Connection to Asbestos
In the late 1800s, doctors began to realize the importance of using sterilized medical equipment to prevent infection. Johnson & Johnson was founded to meet this need. In 1894, the company launched one of its most iconic products: Johnson’s Baby Powder, made of crushed talc.
Today, Johnson & Johnson is one of the largest health care companies in the world. In 2018, the company reported more than $81.6 billion in worldwide sales. A year earlier, J&J began to face lawsuits over asbestos exposure from contaminated talcum baby powder.
In July 2019, the U.S. Justice Department launched a criminal investigation to determine if Johnson & Johnson purposefully misled the public about asbestos fibers in its talcum powder. Thousands of lawsuits have coincided with this latest probe of the pharmaceutical giant.
The justice department criminal investigation may take years to resolve and unfortunately, could delay settlement in pending civil claims.
For years, it’s been well known that many sources of talc are naturally contaminated with asbestos, which causes mesothelioma. The two minerals often occur in the same geological formations. Despite this, J&J did not focus on the issues of asbestos contamination in baby powder, which is of one of its flagship consumer products.
Asbestos-related diseases usually arise after years of regular exposure to the toxic mineral. Long-term exposure can occur with baby powder. Many people initially received talcum powder as babies to prevent diaper rash, and they continued using the product into adulthood.
Long-term use of asbestos-contaminated talcum powder can lead to cancer.
Asbestos is heat resistant and versatile, while talcum powder is valued as a natural lubricant that absorbs moisture. For much of the 20th century, companies promoted asbestos and talc as harmless, naturally occurring wonder minerals.
The asbestos industry manipulated medical research around its products and buried negative findings about asbestos and health as long as it could. The corporate cover-up of asbestos’ cancer-causing effects lasted well into the 1970s.
The talc industry played a role, too, by downplaying the danger of asbestos contamination in talc products.
Johnson & Johnson has always publicly denied its talcum powder products cause cancer, much like many other companies accused of using asbestos in their products. However, documents unsealed in 2017 revealed J&J company executives were aware of asbestos liabilities as early as the 1970s.
Company reports highlighted the need to suppress concerns over asbestos contamination at talc mines in Vermont and Italy. And despite some J&J staff considering a switch of baby powder’s main ingredient from talc to corn starch to avoid liability, the company never stopped selling talcum powder.
Now juries are holding Johnson & Johnson accountable for cancer caused by asbestos in its products.
In February 2019, Imerys Talc America, a key talc supplier for Johnson & Johnson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The bankruptcy occurred in the wake of multibillion-dollar lawsuits alleging its talc caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.
One of the main causes of mesothelioma — accounting for around 90% of cases — is asbestos exposure. For ovarian cancer, the suspected link to baby powder comes from the product being used by women for personal hygiene.