Thousands in UK sue Johnson & Johnson over talcum powder cancer risks

In the United Kingdom, a big court complaint has been lodged against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, alleging that the company was negligent in selling baby powder that was contaminated with asbestos. The allegation involves 3,000 people and focuses on internal memos and scientific studies, which have been seen by the BBC. Johnson & Johnson (J) was aware that fibrous forms of talc, as well as tremolite and actinolite, were present in the lawsuit, which was brought by KP Law. Both minerals, when they are in their fibrous form, are classified as asbestos and can lead to potentially lethal tumor formation. Despite knowing that the minerals were specifically related to cancers, J&J never issued warnings regarding the packaging of its baby powder, according to the court papers. Rather, the lawsuit says, it began aggressive marketing campaigns portraying the powder as a sign of purity and security. J&J denies the allegation, as well as any claims that it sold baby powder contaminated with asbestos. According to a statement issued on behalf of the company, its baby powder "was compliant with any required regulatory requirements, did not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer. In 2023, the selling of talc-containing baby powder was banned in the United Kingdom. The UK case mirrors extensive court proceedings in the United States, where multiple lawsuits have been filed and claimants have been awarded billions of dollars in damages. In some cases, the company has prevailed. The lawyers for the claimants claim that the damages in the United Kingdom could go beyond hundreds of millions of pounds, and that the case could become the first product liability case in British history.

'Keep the whole thing confidential'

The allegations of links between talcum powder and cancer revolve around asbestos, a common cause of cancer. Talc, which was used in J&J talcum powders, is a naturally occurring mineral that is often mined in close proximity to asbestos deposits. It is asbestos minerals in their fibrous needle-like form that are associated with cancer. J&J is accused of discovering asbestos in its baby powder as early as the 1960s, according to the lawsuit. According to one internal paper dating back to 1973,

Our baby powder contains talc fragments classifiable as fiber. Occasionally sub-trace amounts of tremolite or actinolite are identifiable.

J&J says this letter was discussing how regulations can be modified and therefore categorize tal fibers as asbestos. That may have been inaccurate, according to the company. Executives also discussed the benefits of a proposed patent for a device that was supposed to remove asbestos fibres from talc in the same year.

We may want to keep the whole thing private rather than allowing it to be released in patent form and thus letting the whole world know. These discussions, according to J&J, were private because a new patent may have been highly useful if the new technique had been successful. In the end, it did not turn out to be cost-effective. The lawsuit claims that J&J proceeded to minimize the danger for decades and maximize profits by releasing warnings on the bottle rather than releasing alerts. Despite knowing there were carcinogenic fibres in the baby powder, the firm's marketing team analyzed how to increase sales. In the 1970s and 1980s, US marketing concentrated on the selling of pure and delicate powder for newborn babies. African American women were the primary target for marketing by the 1990s and the 2000s.

The fact that talc is unsafe for use on/around babies is troubling,

the company's internal email, which was seen by the BBC, says.

I don't think we should continue to say baby powder and keep it in the baby aisle. According to J&J, this discussion was about asphyxiation, a rare but well-known risk at the time relating to the use of all body powder, but not related to cancer or asbestos, and no one was warned of this. Documents cited in the UK lawsuit include evidence that from the 1970s J&J executives' lobbying for lower sensitivity requirements (FDA) to accept lower transparency requirements so that tests did not find evidence on small amounts of asbestos fibers. The allegation cites internal documents, which state that J&J advocated for talc testing methods that permitted up to 1% asbestos contamination, claiming that more precise detection techniques were unnecessary. According to the lawsuit, the company was able to maintain claims of product purity by misleading regulators and customers about the presence of asbestos in its talc products. J&J claims that this misrepresents the document's context, which uses a hypothetical figure as requested by the FDA.

'My mother used it - I used it'

Many of the claimants in the United Kingdom are suffering from ovarian cancer, mesothelioma, a disease that is usually caused by asbestos exposure or other cancers. Both of the defendants are accused of using J&J's baby powder for a lengthy period of time. Siobhan Ryan, 63, was one young mother who saw the ads and said she trusted J&J's baby powder.

My mother used it and I used it. It was smelt lovely and was soft and lovely. I used it on my babies when they were born.

I thought I was doing my best for them,she told the BBC from her Somerset home.It was such a shock. We just hugged and cried. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when the doctor told me I had stage 4 ovarian cancer.

At the time of diagnosis, it was unclear how long Siobhan would live for, but now that three rounds of chemotherapy, a bout of sepsis that nearly killed her, and major surgery to her abdomen, she is alive and well. Siobhan, as well as other plaintiffs in the case, believes that J&J's baby powder contributed to her cancer. The first rounds of chemotherapy helped stem the disease from spreading, but Siobhan discovered another lump in her groin a few months ago. She is back in chemotherapy and surgeons say her cancer is no longer operable.

They knew it was contaminated, but they still sold it to new mothers and their babies,

Siobhan says. A combination of genetic, internal, and external causes can cause ovarian cancer.

The female reproductive tract is open to the external world in order for women to get pregnant,

Prof Christina Fotopoulou, a leading gynaecological oncology surgeon and a pioneer in the field of ovarian cancer, says.

Cancer is often an accumulation of mistakes in the cell's reproduction cycle, and therefore any risk factors that alter the balance of the cells may lead to cancer. "The most common signs of ovarian cancer are persistent bloating, persistent pelvic or abdominal pain, feeling full or inability to eat, and an increased or urgent need to urinate. Many people who experience such symptoms regularly - more than 12 times a month - should see a doctor. Extreme exhaustion, changes in bowel habits such as constipation or diarrhoea, and vaginal bleeding after menopause are all signs you should monitor your GP.

Our baby powder 'was compliant'

A judge in the United States state of Connecticut ordered J&J and its successor entities to pay $25 million to a man with terminal peritoneal mesothelioma after lifelong USe of J&G baby powder. The jury found the pharmaceutical company to be negligent for marketing asbestos-contaminated talc powder. Dr. Steve Mann, the former director of toxicology at J&J consumer products, said he had made safety claims without investigating any test results, and was depositioned during the hearing. Dr. Mann admitted that he had test findings demonstrating asbestos in the baby powder but did not bother to notify authorities or regulators, but didnot decide not to notify managers or regulator. The judge found that safer alternatives, such as cornstarch, were both available and well-known to the company, yet J&J continued to offer talc-based powder in the United States until 2020 and in the UK until three years later. J&J has denied wrongdoing and is expected to appeal following the Connecticut decision. J&J has shifted its customer care arm to Kenvue, which said in a statement:

We sympathise deeply with people living with cancer. We know that they and their families are looking for answers, which is why the facts are so critical.

The baby powder's safety was confirmed by years of research by