"The company has faced thousands of lawsuits from cancer patients who claim that its talc was contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen, and that the company knew of the risks."
- By Tiffany Hsu and in the New York Times, May 19th, 2020
In a developing story, the New York Times is reporting that Johnson & Johnson announced today (May 19, 2020) that it is discontinuing North American sales of baby powder made with talc. According to the article, Johnson & Johnson "would wind down sales over the next few months, allowing existing bottles to be sold by retailers until they run out. Baby powder made with cornstarch will remain available, and talc-based baby powder will continue to be sold in other parts of the world."
To read the full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/19/business/johnson-baby-powder-sales-stopped.html
Johnson & Johnson's consumer announcement can be read in full here: https://www.jnj.com/our-company/johnson-johnson-consumer-health-announces-discontinuation-of-talc-based-johnsons-baby-powder-in-u-s-and-canada
The CMF will continue to monitor this story and will publish updates as they emerge.