WOMEN SHOULDN’T PANIC OVER TALC CANCER SCARE

DOES talcum powder cause cancer? Last week it emerged that Johnson and Johnson, which makes the product, is facing lawsuits in the UK over such claims. The company has already been successfully sued by a handful of American patients who say their ovarian cancer was trigger by using talc.

I’d urge women not to panic. Firstly, it’s not clear from the reports exactly how talcum powder could get into the ovaries. Researchers have guessed that the harm is to do with contamination with asbestos – a naturally occurring mineral that forms in a similar way to talc, so is often found alongside it and is a known carcinogen.

But this is very hard to prove, and Johnson and Johnson strongly deny that its product was tainted.

When something such as talcum powder or deodorant is so widely used, it is near impossible to tell if vanishingly rare effects are a result of the product or something else.

And given that a whole host of factors are involved in a person’s cancer risk, from genetics to diet, scientists can’t unpick one thing from the other.

But there’s no doubt more research is needed. Talcum powder has been used by women for centuries, and if it poses harm to them, we need to know.