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J&J Talc 4/5
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How Vagina Shame Led to These Incredibly Sad Cancer Lawsuits
Apr 4, 2016 | The Cut
By Susan Rinkunas
In February, a jury determined that Johnson & Johnson should paymore than $70 million to the family of a woman who was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer, in 2013, at age 59. -
Did Johnson & Johnson Cover up Cancer Risk of Its Baby Powder?
Apr 4, 2016 | Chem.Info
By Andy Szal
As Johnson & Johnson faces hundreds of lawsuits over alleged links between its talcum products and cancer, a new report suggests that the company disregarded decades of warning signs. -
Talc supplier and J&J headed to court over cancer
Apr 4, 2016 | Cosmetics Design
By Deanna Utroske
In a trial set to begin next week, more than 1,000 women are now suing the consumer goods company and the ingredients supplier Imerys Talc America for not disclosing known health risks. -
FDA monitoring Johnson & Johnson baby powder after Missouri case
Apr 4, 2016 | Eleven News
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will be monitoring Johnson & Johnson powder products, which have been flagged as toxic, though no product recalls or bans have yet been implemented. -
Talc powder and ovarian cancer: Is there a connection?
Apr 5, 2016 | The Jakarta Post
By Anne A. Jambora
The safety of one of the most ubiquitous personal products recently spurred concern worldwide when a US jury verdict linked the regular use of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and Shower to Shower talcum powder to a woman’s death from ovarian cancer.
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How Vagina Shame Led to These Incredibly Sad Cancer Lawsuits
Apr 4, 2016 | The Cut
By Susan Rinkunas
In February, a jury determined that Johnson & Johnson should paymore than $70 million to the family of a woman who was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer, in 2013, at age 59. In depositions, Jacqueline Fox said she sprinkled J&J's baby powder in her underwear every day since she was a teenager to stay "fresh and clean"; she passed away in October. Thiswasn't the first time the company was sued over talcum powder, and it won't be the last, as many women grew up using the product at the recommendation of their mothers and grandmothers.
Bloomberg reports that Johnson & Johnson is facing more than 1,000 lawsuits from women claiming the company knew that the talc in its Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products was linked to ovarian cancer when used in the genital area, but didn't warn customers. The company marketed both products for feminine hygiene, and in the '80s it told The New York Times Magazine that 70 percent of baby-powder users were adults. A 1988 ad for Shower to Shower said "just a sprinkle a day keeps odor away." Others reminded women: "Your body perspires in more places than just under your arms."
J&J's Baby Powder labels do advise that it's meant for external use only, but some researchers argue that baby powder applied topically could travel up the vagina and make its way through the uterus, finally landing in the ovaries. The studies on perineal talcum-powder use and ovarian cancer risk have mixed results, but experts who testified on behalf of Fox's family believe J&J at least had a duty to warn customers of the possible association.
The company started selling cornstarch-based baby powder alongside its talc formula in the '70s, and the American Cancer Society has said, since 1999, that cornstarch products are a good alternative for women who are concerned about the health risks of talc.
But whether or not talc causes cancer, it's worth looking at the reason why some women use these products on their undercarriages in the first place: They've gotten subtle (or not-so-subtle) hints throughout their lives that their vaginas are smelly and even repulsive and are in need of fragrance, douches, and other feminine hygiene products, most of which can ironically cause irritation. Women born after the '50s and '60s have witnessed a different conversation, and thanks to the internet, they can easily find out that they don't need soap, powder, or douches and that vaginas are self-cleaning, like that feature you never use on your oven. Even men's sites are talking about this stuff.
Yes, we still have people trying to make vaginas smell like peaches but, overall, we live in an age of greater genital self-acceptance. If sprinkling your lady garden with cornstarch-based powder genuinely makes you feel fresh and good, then by all means continue dusting away. But if there's even a sliver of latent vaginal oppression guiding your routine, why not try skipping it?
http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/04/sad-truth-behind-the-baby-powder-ovarian-cancer-lawsuits.html
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Did Johnson & Johnson Cover up Cancer Risk of Its Baby Powder?
Apr 4, 2016 | Chem.Info
By Andy Szal
As Johnson & Johnson faces hundreds of lawsuits over alleged links between its talcum products and cancer, a new report suggests that the company disregarded decades of warning signs.
In addition, Bloomberg reports that the New Jersey pharmaceutical company sought to specifically market those products toward black and Hispanic women long after potential health concerns were raised.
A Missouri jury earlier this year awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer last fall. Jackie Fox's civil suit was the first to receive damages out of more than 1,000 filed against the company nationwide.
Bloomberg found that the first scientific study to outline a possible connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer was published in 1971, and that a Johnson & Johnson official met with a Boston scientist to dispute his findings in a 1982 study.
Another 20 studies in subsequent years found an increased cancer risk from long-term talcum powder use, while others were inconclusive.
Jurors in Fox's case, meanwhile, were told that the company ignored suspected risks and failed to inform consumers about them.
Attorneys produced a 24-year-old internal memo that acknowledged "negative publicity from the health community on talc," only to later encourage the company to focus its marketing on black and Hispanic women.
One observer told Bloomberg that the memo was likely an effort to connect with a core product constituency — rather than something more sinister — but acknowledged that it "looks horrible" in the current context.
Johnson & Johnson, meanwhile, continues to defend its products and vowed to appeal the St. Louis verdict.
Analysts said that although baby powder was not an especially lucrative product for the company, officials probably view it as one of its oldest and a flagship for its $2 billion baby division.
“There hasn’t been a single scientific body that has considered talc to be a causal agent," Penn State University professor and J&J consultant Joshua Muscat told Bloomberg. "Many don’t even consider talc to be a risk factor. To me, the science is black and white.”
http://www.chem.info/news/2016/04/did-johnson-johnson-cover-cancer-risk-its-baby-powder
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Talc supplier and J&J headed to court over cancer
Apr 4, 2016 | Cosmetics Design
By Deanna Utroske
In a trial set to begin next week, more than 1,000 women are now suing the consumer goods company and the ingredients supplier Imerys Talc America for not disclosing known health risks.
For full story: http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Regulation-Safety/Talc-supplier-and-J-J-headed-to-court-over-cancer
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FDA monitoring Johnson & Johnson baby powder after Missouri case
Apr 4, 2016 | Eleven News
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will be monitoring Johnson & Johnson powder products, which have been flagged as toxic, though no product recalls or bans have yet been implemented.
In February, a court in the US state of Missouri awarded US$72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer that as allegedly caused by Johnson & Johnson baby powder, as well as other products containing talcum.
Myanmar’s FDA is now in contact with the ASEAN Cosmetics Alert System to monitor for cases of ill effects to consumers, despite a lack of strong evidence connecting the ingredients listed in Johnson & Johnson baby powder products to ovarian cancer.
The FDA announced that it is in the process of cracking down on unlicensed products, especially cosmetic products, and has urged consumers to avoid all products sold online.http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/business/fda-monitoring-johnson-johnson-baby-powder-after-missouri-case
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Talc powder and ovarian cancer: Is there a connection?
Apr 5, 2016 | The Jakarta Post
By Anne A. Jambora
The safety of one of the most ubiquitous personal products recently spurred concern worldwide when a US jury verdict linked the regular use of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and Shower to Shower talcum powder to a woman’s death from ovarian cancer.
Jacqueline Fox from Birmingham, Alabama, claimed she used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for feminine hygiene purposes for over 35 years. Three years ago she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She died October last year at 62.
In February this year, a Missouri jury awarded $72 million in damages to her family. Fox’s is one of 1,200 lawsuits in the United States currently being brought against the American multinational company, from consumers who claim they were not informed of the risks of talcum powder.
But are the risks posed by using products containing talc real?
Before throwing out your favorite eyeshadow or dusting powder, according to the Scientific American, scientists said the evidence of a real danger “is inconclusive at best.”
Talcum powder, made of the planet’s softest mineral, talc, contains magnesium, silicon and oxygen. It is used in a variety of cosmetic products, including powders used to absorb moisture or to cut down friction. In its natural form, talc contains asbestos, a known carcinogen.
However, all talcum products used for homes in the United States have been asbestos-free since the 1970s. But while the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not allow talc-based products to contain asbestos, cosmetic products do not need to be reviewed or approved before hitting the store shelves.
Health Magazine said that in a study from 2009 to 2010, the FDA tested random retail outlets in the Washington, DC metro area and bought a variety of cosmetic products containing talc. No traces of asbestos were found in all products across a wide range of prices. Still, that does not prove that all talc-based products in the market are asbestos-free.
Different kinds
The American Cancer Society (ACS) pointed out that it’s important to distinguish between talc that contains asbestos and talc that does not contain asbestos when talking about cancer links.
Talc that contains asbestos can cause cancer when inhaled; hence, some studies suggest higher risks of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases among talc miners and millers.
Other studies, however, found no increased risk of lung cancer. The studies on miners and millers are complicated, says the ACS, since talc in its natural form can contain varying amounts of asbestos and other minerals. But the use of cosmetic talcum powder so far has shown no increased risk of lung cancer.
But what about the ovaries? Since some women use talc powder for feminine hygiene purposes, there have been suggestions that talcum powder may cause ovarian cancer if powder particles—after application in the genital area or sanitary napkins, diaphragms or condoms—travel through the vagina, uterus and fallopian tubes to the ovary, and cause inflammation.
Dr. Adetunji Toriola, a Washington University epidemiologist at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, told Scientific American that such an association is scientifically plausible.
“We know that inflammation increases ovarian cancer risk,” he noted. “We know talcum powder causes inflammation. The question is, does talc cause cancer by causing inflammation in the ovaries?”
‘Possibly’
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a part of the World Health Organization, classified talc that contains asbestos as “carcinogenic to humans.” And, based on limited evidence from human studies of a link to ovarian cancer, IARC classifies the perineal (genital) use of talc-based body powder as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
The word “possibly” has raised concern among consumers, especially after the court ruling. But the American Cancer Society says more research is needed on the topic.
A 2014 report by the National Center for Biotechnology Information—where 61,576 postmenopausal women were followed for a mean of 12.4 years without a history of cancer or bilateral oophorectomy—concluded that “perineal powder use does not appear to influence ovarian cancer risk."
The scientific evidence linking ovarian cancer to the use of talc powder is not overwhelming. The Johnson & Johnson trial, however, was on whether the company withheld information from its consumers about the potential risks of talc powder, and not about proving its safety or danger.
There is still very little known about ovarian cancer, the fifth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in women. At present, there is not even a screening tool for the disease.
Science, so far, has only been able to show its risk factors.
This, according to some scientists, is probably why people are so keen to believe there is a connection between talc and ovarian cancer.
In response to the verdict, Johnson & Johnson issued a statement to CNN saying its products are safe.
“The recent US verdict goes against decades of sound science proving the safety of talc as a cosmetic ingredient in multiple products, and while we sympathize with the family of the plaintiff, we strongly disagree with the outcome,” said Carol Goodrich, Johnson & Johnson spokesperson, in a statement sent to CNN.
On its website, Johnson & Johnson states that its talc-based products, based on studies made by the FDA, are asbestos-free: “Various government agencies and other bodies have also examined talc to determine the potential for any safety risk, and none have concluded that there are safety risks. In fact, no regulatory agency has ever required a change in labeling to reflect any safety risk from talc powder products.”
http://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2016/04/05/talc-powder-and-ovarian-cancer-is-there-a-connection.html
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