Johnson & Johnson To Stop Selling Talc Baby Powder in the US & Canada

In May, Johnson & Johnson announced that they’ll no longer be selling their talc-based baby powders in the USA and Canada.

They cite falling sales due to “misinformation” about their product.

The company currently faces over 19,000 lawsuits regarding the talc-based baby powder over claims that the product caused cancer. It’s claimed that is contaminated with asbestos, an extremely carcinogenic material.

“Demand for talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising.”

In 2018, an expose claimed that Johnson & Johnson had known for decades that their baby powder was contaminated with asbestos. That was the catalyst to start the downfall of the company’s signature product, with thousands of lawsuits to follow.

The claims that talc-based baby powder can cause cancer haven’t been proven to be true as of yet, but studies have shown a small link between talc and ovarian cancer.

While there are no strong links regarding baby powder and cancer, the question remains: why use it at all?

The American Academy of Pediatrics has not recommended using baby powder for children due to the possibility of inhalation, and there are many talc-free baby powders available that are much safer to use.

J&J says that they’ll continue to sell its talc-based baby powder in markets outside of North America, and will continue to sell their cornstarch-based powders in North America.