Johnson’s baby powder develops an itch
NEW DELHI: The controversy surrounding Johnson & Johnson (J&J), synonymous with baby care products, may well play out the way Nestlé’s Maggie noodles did.
The social media is awash with messages of concern, blaming J&J for betraying trust after a 62-year old American woman died of Ovarian cancer that was linked to the sustained use of the company’s baby talcum powder.
Reuters reported that J&J, the world’s biggest maker of health care products, was found liable for fraud, negligence and conspiracy in an American civil suit last week. The jury ordered the company to pay $72 million (`490 crore) in damages to the family of the woman.
The core of the dispute is that some forms of talk contain asbestos, which is a known carcinogen. J&J has said its talk does not contain asbestos.
“I’m terrified now to use the talc despite these assurances. On a personal note, I feel deeply betrayed by this company,” read a post by a user.
Bijay J Anand (@bijayanand) from India wrote on Twitter: “Stop using chemicals on ur body. Johnson and Johnson powder causes cancer”.
But J&J seems to disagree. “The recent jury outcome goes against decades of sound science proving the safety of talc as a cosmetic ingredient in multiple products. We strongly disagree with the outcome,” J&J spokesperson told HT in an e-mail reply to a questionnaire. This has been the company’s standard line in its response worldwide.
The company sent out two links to its blog in reply to questions sent by HT. The blog starts by saying, “Everyone else is talking about our company, so why can’t we?” and goes on to defend the safety record of talc.
J&J still claims the product is safe to use. “Our confidence in using talc reflects more than 30 years of research by independent scientists, review boards and global authorities, which have concluded that talc can be used safely,” the spokesperson said.