Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has finalised a $700m (£552m; €654m) settlement with 42 US states and the District of Columbia to end their lawsuit alleging that the company knew that its talcum based products, including the iconic Johnson’s Baby Powder, contained asbestos and threatened human health.1
The settlement, which awaits final approval by a judge, still leaves the company facing litigation from about 54 000 people with ovarian cancer and hundreds with mesothelioma. J&J has set aside $11bn for potential payouts in those claims.
Under the settlement’s terms J&J agrees to permanently desist from making or marketing products containing talcum. The company stopped using talcum in its North American products in 2020, switching to a corn starch based formula. It continued selling talcum based products elsewhere in the world until last year.
But, despite paying out billions in settlements, J&J maintains that its talcum products never contained asbestos and posed no health risks. The switch to corn starch, it said, was driven by reduced demand that was “fuelled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising.” Its …
