J & J to stop talc baby powder

JOHNSON & Johnson is stopping selling baby powder containing talc worldwide next year after it did the same in the US and Canada amid thousands of lawsuits claiming it had caused cancer.

Talc will be replaced by cornstarch, the company said. The firm has faced thousands of lawsuits alleging its talcum powder caused users to develop ovarian cancer, through use for feminine hygiene, or mesothelioma, a cancer that strikes the lungs and other organs.

J&J insists, and the overwhelming majority of medical research on talc indicates, that the talc baby powder is safe but demand fell off due to the controversy.