Johnson ’s Baby Powder “ has been a staple of baby maintenance rituals and grownup skin care and physical composition routine worldwide for over a century , ” notes the product ’s manufacturer , Johnson & Johnson ( J&J ) , on itswebsite . But a recent investigation by Reuters , along with legion court battles , suggest a darker side to this everyday mathematical product .
On December 14 , Reuters publisheda reportrevealing that Johnson & Johnson had covered up grounds suggest a front of asbestos in its mathematical product . This make the company ’s plowshare to plummet by 10 percent on Friday , according toThe New York Times .
Reuters test various documents and memos , as well as deposit and trial testimony , to conclude that between 1971 and the other 2000s , “ the ship’s company ’s raw talc and finished pulverisation sometimes tested confirming for small amount of asbestos , and that caller executives , mine director , scientists , doctors , and lawyers fretted over the trouble and how to address it while failing to disclose it to regulator or the public . ”
The report notes various instances where asbestos was found in talc ware . For example , three tests conduct between 1972 and 1975 apparently found traces of asbestos in J&J talc , with one sample contain “ rather in high spirits ” levels .
However , while these and a few other samples did test overconfident for asbestos , Reuters notes that the majority of J&J report it looked at get hold no trace of asbestos .
Talcum powder , the key ingredient in Johnson ’s Baby Powder , is a pulverized form of a mineral known as talc . Talc primarily comprise magnesium , Si , and oxygen . It engulf wet and reduces clash , and is therefore used to keep the skin juiceless and to prevent rash and chafing .
Asbestos refers to a radical of six of course occurring mineral , which have a very stringy structure . Asbestos was once used wide in grammatical construction , but asbestos products are nowmainly banneddue to the risk of exposure they perplex to the great unwashed ’s health , peculiarly those that mine it . Long - condition exposure to asbestos can head to lung disease and certain type of malignant neoplastic disease .
Asbestos ’ connection to cancer has led to a act of sound battles between Johnson & Johnson and long - condition users of its products who say they have endure cancer as a lineal outcome . In July , the companionship wasordered to pay$4.7 billion in damages to 22 women who alleged that J&J talc products had induce their ovarian cancer . J&J are currently appeal this determination , citing juror confusion and a reliance on “ junk ” science among its reasons to fight back .
Damages have also been awarded to complainant in New Jersey and California who alleged their mesothelioma – a type of Crab affecting the linings of the lung that ’s often linked to asbestos exposure – was have by J&J talc product .
So , should you be worried ?
In 2009 , the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) commissioned examination on 34 talc samples , including J&J Baby Powder , and foundno evidence of asbestoswhatsoever . What ’s more , theAmerican Cancer Society(ACS ) notes that while there is “ some mesmerism of potential addition in ovarian cancer jeopardy … There is very little evidence at this time that any other form of cancer are associate with consumer use of talcum powder powder . ”
According to the ACS , studies on the link between ovarian genus Cancer and talcum have had mixed effect . Some have found no connection between the two , while others have happen that talcum powder use increases the jeopardy of the disease – but only slightly . The ACS also notes that this only applies if talc is directly go for to the venereal area .
Studies colligate talcum powder powder to ovarian cancer are limited because they tend to bank on fair sex ego - describe how much talcum they used decade ago , which may not be precise , notesCancer Research UK . They add together that more enquiry is needed , but even if talc does increase cancer hazard , this increase will only besmall , and ovarian cancer is a rarefied disease anyway .
If you ’re particularly worried , perhaps avoid regularly applying talcum to your genitals . Medical experts recommendthat women only use plain , unscented max on this sensitive orbit anyway .
Some studies havelinked talc to lung cancerin those that mine it , but at the same time , other research has found no such connexion . What ’s more , talcum in its lifelike form can contain other minerals like asbestos that harm the lungs , but it is purified before being add to cosmetic products .
Johnson & Johnson are inexorable that their products are completely safe , describe the Reuters article as “ one - sided , false , and inflammatory ” in astatementon their site , and push aside the findings as an " absurd cabal hypothesis " .
