Top-Selling Talc Products (Historically)

Since 2017, many manufacturers of talcum powder products have either withdrawn their brands from the U.S. market or switched to a safer alternative like cornstarch powder. Historically however, the following are/were the leading talcum powder brands on the market throughout the United States:

• Cashmere Bouquet (Colgate Palmolive)
• Gold Bond Powders and Sprays (Chattem)
• Johnson’s Baby Powder (Johnson & Johnson)
• Shower to Shower (Valeant/Johnson & Johnson)

Talc Exposure and Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is cancer that arises within the mesothelium – a very thin layer of tissue within the body that covers many internal human organs. Due to the presence of this important tissue throughout the body, a diagnosis of mesothelioma is usually a final one. There are not many available treatments and the cancer is very aggressive. There are different types of mesothelioma. However, the most common form is pleural mesothelioma which involves tissue around the lungs.

Asbestos exposure is considered to be one of the primary risks for developing mesothelioma. Airborne asbestos fibers can settle into the lungs or stomach when inhaled or ingested and then fester for years possibly leading to mesothelioma. In fact, it is believed that mesothelioma may develop as late as 20 to 60 years following initial asbestos exposure.

For years, talc product manufacturers, in particular Johnson & Johnson, asserted that their powder products were safe and did not contain asbestos. However, as the result of recent litigation, Johnson & Johnson was compelled to hand over thousands of pages of internal company documents for examination by plaintiffs. Some of these documents detail that going back to at least 1971, the company knew on multiple occasions that its talc-based powders were testing positive for small amounts of asbestos. It is worth noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) does not recognize any safe level of exposure to asbestos.

Worse yet, internal Johnson & Johnson documents also show that the company could have easily substituted corn starch in the place of talc in all of its products. Johnson & Johnson knew that cornstarch is absolutely free of asbestos yet refused to make the change.

In the belief that their mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos from talc powder (as well as the powder itself), several victims have filed lawsuits and obtained critical verdicts supporting their claims.

• A Missouri jury ruled in favor of four plaintiffs in 2019, who each claimed that exposure to asbestos leaden talcum powder used on them as children caused their mesothelioma. The jury awarded $37.2 million in damages to the group.

• In 2018, a New Jersey jury found that Stephen Lanzo’s mesothelioma diagnosis was likely the result of his exposure to asbestos after years of regular use of Johnson’s Baby Powder. The jury awarded Mr. Lanzo $117 million, including punitive damages after finding that Johnson & Johnson “acted with deliberate indifference” to the rights of Mr. Lanzo.

• After a six-week trial in 2017, a California jury awarded a $22 million verdict to Richard Booker. Mr. Booker died at the age of 72 from mesothelioma and claimed that his diagnosis came after years of exposure to asbestos in paint and ceramics which used talc as a primary ingredient. The jury award included $4.6 million in punitive damages against one of the largest talc mining companies in the world, Imerys.

Talc Exposure and Ovarian Cancer

Going back decades, talc-based powder manufacturers touted their products as a safe and effective means for managing genital perspiration and as a genital deodorant. Products such as Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower were aggressively promoted as non-irritating daily-use solutions for vaginal odor. The campaign was wildly successful and by the mid-2000s, adults accounted for 91% of Johnson’s Baby Powder use.  

Johnson & Johnson’s marketing was even slickly targeted to emergent consumers – in particular “curvy” and “overweight” women. As the WHO began to scrutinize talc-based powders as being “possibly carcinogenic” in 2006, Johnson & Johnson shifted its marketing gears to target overweight and African American women who they considered as a viable consumer opportunity at the time.

The first suggestion of a linkage between ovarian cancer and talc usage emerged in the early 1960s. At that time, researchers felt that since some talc powders contain asbestos, and it was known that animal studies showed the potential for asbestos to migrate to the ovaries from the genitals – there was at least the possibility in humans. It wouldn’t be until 1982 when a case-control study first linked talc use with ovarian cancer.  Since that time, dozens of studies have followed confirming an association.

Despite the studies and evolving knowledge concerning the association between talc-based powders and ovarian cancer, Johnson & Johnson and other manufacturers continue to insist that their talc-based powders are asbestos-free and do not cause cancer. Nevertheless, in May 2020, Johnson & Johnson announced that it was discontinuing sales of talc-based powder products in North America. The company will allow existing bottles of baby powder to be sold by retailers until supplies run out.

Talc and Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits

At present, there are large lawsuits taking place in state courts in New Jersey, California, and Missouri involving claimants who believe that talc-based powder products caused their ovarian cancer. Beyond these state court claims, there is a massive multidistrict lawsuit pending in a federal court in New Jersey (MDL-2738) with nearly 18,000 plaintiffs cases consolidated. Several powder manufacturers are named in these lawsuits, however, Johnson & Johnson is named in the overwhelming lion’s share of cases.

In October 2020, Johnson & Johnson agreed to settle 1,000 of the MDL cases for $100 million dollars. Johnson & Johnson has also agreed in the past to settle some individual cases for undisclosed amounts. The rest of the MDL will likely proceed into the bellwether trial stage in 2021.

Notable Ovarian Cancer and Talc-Based Powder Verdicts

• A Missouri jury sided with ovarian cancer sufferers in 2018 who alleged that years of use of Johnson’s Baby Powder caused their cancer. The $4.7 billion award included $4.14 billion in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson for the company’s “reprehensible conduct” concerning its longtime knowledge of the presence of asbestos in its talc-powder products.
• Eva Echevarria was awarded a verdict of $417 million by a Los Angeles, California, jury after it found that Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn her of the cancer risks associated with talc-based products.
• Jacqueline Fox used Johnson’s Baby Powder daily going back several decades and was shocked to learn that it was potentially the cause of her ovarian cancer diagnosis. In 2016, a jury in Missouri awarded her $72 million, $62 million of which were punitive damages on the basis of the conduct of Johnson & Johnson.

Tracy Everhart

Tracy Everhart is the Editor for Drug Law Journal. A highly-trained and certified medical professional, Tracy is also an accomplished medical writer. After spending years on the front lines of the medical profession, Tracy now devotes her expertise and skills to researching and reporting on new drugs and devices that enter the market, as well as their side-effects and the real-life stories involved. Prior to joining Drug Law Journal, Tracy wrote for benchmark online healthcare resources focused on families and, in particular, women’s health issues. Tracy holds post-graduate degrees from both the American College of Healthcare Sciences and the Yale School of Nursing. She is also a graduate of both Hampshire College, where she studied microbiology and the University of South Carolina school of nursing.