In the UK, thousands of people have filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson over the possible connection of its talc powder with cancer. According to the plaintiffs, among those involved in the case, one person dies every three days, as reported by the Daily Mail on April 30.
According to a British newspaper, the plaintiffs consider baby talcum powder to be toxic and capable of causing death. According to the publication, the case could become the largest in the UK regarding product liability – opening statements have already been made in the High Court.
As the article notes, a total of 7,111 plaintiffs claim that the company knew as early as 1960 that talc contained asbestos, a substance linked to cancer. Despite this, they said, products contaminated with talc continued to be sold in the UK.
The filing states that all of the plaintiffs or their close relatives developed ovarian cancer or mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that is usually associated with asbestos exposure.
Johnson & Johnson, the newspaper reports, denies all allegations, including allegations that it knowingly sold products contaminated with asbestos.
At the same time, the law firm KP Law, which represents the plaintiffs, emphasizes the need for urgent action and states that there are regular cases of deaths among those involved in the case. According to lawyers, the defendant's demands for detailed information from each plaintiff are actually delaying the process. In turn, Johnson & Johnson's lawyers deny these accusations.
The article tells the story of one of the plaintiffs, Margaret Manion. She joined the lawsuit in 2024 after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was one of many women who have died since the lawsuit was filed last October. As the publication notes, as a child, her mother used baby powder on her, and as an adult, the woman herself used talcum powder daily and used it on her children.
As highlighted by the Daily Mail, KP Law's position is based on the assertion that Johnson & Johnson did not place warnings on the product packaging and promoted it as safe, despite the fact that, according to lawyers, few deposits of talc do not contain asbestos.
However, the company, as the publication writes, insists that its products met the standards, were of high quality and did not contain a cancer-causing substance.
Direct evidence of a link between talc use and these diseases is currently limited. At the same time, the media writes that if talc contains asbestos, its particles can enter the reproductive system, reach the ovaries and cause inflammation, which can subsequently lead to the development of cancer. Research cited by the Daily Mail shows that women who regularly use talcum powder have a 36% higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
The material also notes that, according to the World Health Organization, talc contaminated with asbestos is considered potentially carcinogenic to humans.
