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J&J Faces Second Trial over Talc Ovarian Cancer Link
Apr 25, 2016 | Legal Reader
By Jay W. Belle Isle
The afternoon of April 12 saw the Talc Litigation Group’s Allen R. Smith, Jr. tell a jury that Johnson & Johnson had known for 40 years that there was a link between talc and ovarian cancer. -
Talc-Based Powder Defendants Appeal Missouri Court Order Dismissing Case
Apr 25, 2016 | Harris Martin
Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., and Imerys Talc America Inc. have filed a notice of appeal to the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, indicating that they intend to contest a federal court order dismissing without prejudice a talc-based powder suit over their objections. -
Westport skin-care business puts focus on health
Apr 25, 2016 | ctpost
By Silvia Foster-Frau
Siobhan McKinley, a freelance actress with no agent, does things by herself. That includes starting her own Westport business, Organachs Farm to Skin, from the ground up.
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J&J Faces Second Trial over Talc Ovarian Cancer Link
Apr 25, 2016 | Legal Reader
By Jay W. Belle Isle
The afternoon of April 12 saw the Talc Litigation Group’s Allen R. Smith, Jr. tell a jury that Johnson & Johnson had known for 40 years that there was a link between talc and ovarian cancer. In fact, Mr. Smith pointed out that talc is even on a regulatory list of known or suspected carcinogens in California. However, Mr. Smith pointed out, J&J never warned women about this risk when its talc-containing products were used on or near their genitals. So, J&J faces second trial over talc ovarian cancer link.
Mr. Smith said, “This case is about profit over human lives, and specifically women’s lives. The evidence will show that Johnson & Johnson, instead of warning, used corporate influence and hired former FDA people to prevent regulation at all costs, and that’s according to their internal documents.”
There are dozens more behind this one and the first trial did not go well for J&J.
The lawsuits were consolidated in the Circuit Court of St. Louis in 2014. The first case, decided in February, cost J&J $72M. That case involved the estate of Jacqueline Fox, a long-time user of J&J’s powder. The case was – to the best of everyone’s knowledge – the first time J&J had been ordered to pay up over the issue. The verdict consisted of $10M in compensatory damages and $62M in punitive damages, which were meant to send the company a message: get your act together or plan to keep on paying.
The current case involves Gloria Ristesund, age 62. She was 57 when diagnosed with endometrioid ovarian cancer in 2011. This particular cancer affects the lining of the ovaries. Mr. Smith plans to present evidence that her repeated use of J&J’s product on her genitals, along with her “independently existing endometriosis,” increased her risk of developing ovarian cancer by a shocking 214%. Ms. Ristesund’s complaint lists J&J and Imrys Talc America, Inc. (a talc producer) as defendants.Image courtesy of: www.usian.org.
Of course, J&J is slinging the same argument it’s been using for years: the link between its product and ovarian cancer is very weak and that the science behind the link is inconsistent and uncertain. In Ms. Ristesund’s case, Christy D. Jones of Butler Snow LLP, representing the defendants further stated that the weak link between talc and ovarian cancer involves a different form of ovarian cancer than the one with which Ms. Ristesund was diagnosed.
Ms. Jones also plans to argue that Ms. Ristesund has other risk factors for ovarian cancer, such as her age and endometriosis. Both, claims Ms. Jones, put Ms. Ristesund at a greater risk for ovarian cancer than does talc use.
One admits one must need a remedial anatomy and physiology class, at least if Ms. Jones’ next argument is to be believed. She stated that talc is a very common mineral used in cosmetics, certain medical procedures and food production. Therefore, she said, finding talc in a woman’s ovaries doesn’t necessarily mean it came from genital powdering. The last time one checked, the ovaries were not included in the gastro-intestinal system, nor was the skin of the face. While one is familiar with the holistic belief that everything is connected to everything else, one finds it very difficult to swallow the idea that anything a woman eats will end up in her ovaries.
http://www.legalreader.com/jj-faces-second-trial-over-talc-ovarian-cancer-link/
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Talc-Based Powder Defendants Appeal Missouri Court Order Dismissing Case
Apr 25, 2016 | Harris Martin
ST. LOUIS –– Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., and Imerys Talc America Inc. have filed a notice of appeal to the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, indicating that they intend to contest a federal court order dismissing without prejudice a talc-based powder suit over their objections.
The defendants filed the notice of appeal on April 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
In the notice, the defendants said they will ask the 8th Circuit to review the federal court’s March 29 order, in which the court granted the plaintiff’s motion to ...
Associated Documents
Notice of Appealhttp://harrismartin.com/article/20722/talc-based-powder-defendants-appeal-missouri-court-order-dismissing-case/
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Westport skin-care business puts focus on health
Apr 25, 2016 | ctpost
By Silvia Foster-Frau
WESTPORT — Just two weeks ago, she was Jackie Kennedy. Winding through London streets in a motorcade, the actress posed in front of thousands of clicking cameras.
Siobhan McKinley, a freelance actress with no agent, does things by herself. That includes starting her own Westport business, Organachs Farm to Skin, from the ground up.
“Being an actor is pretty entrepreneurial in a way, because you have to promote yourself and put yourself out there,” she said.
Though she might get more press for her promotional videos and occasional commercials, McKinley puts most of her time and energy into her month-old skin care and cosmetology store in downtown Westport.
The idea to start Organach, the Irish word for organic, came to McKinley last August. After years of researching the chemicals and toxins that can be found in generic cosmetics and skin care lines, McKinley decided to take a personal choice of hers — to avoid potentially harmful skin products — and offer it to the community.
One month after the idea came to her, she signed a lease. And six months later, Organach had its opening day.
“I had to let women know,” she said. “I feel really, genuinely concerned that women make healthier choices.”
The cause
It takes 26 seconds for chemicals applied to your skin to enter your bloodstream, she said. “You should really take care of what you put in your body just as much as you put on your body. And that’s not verbalized enough to the public,” McKinley said.
Though studies have shown that the small amount of chemicals that do manage to eke their way into blood often get heavily diluted, there are some chemicals in skin care products that have shown to manipulate hormones and increase chances of cancer in their users.
“I was really shocked about how unregulated the cosmetology (industry) is. The more research I did, I was so disgusted with how women are blatantly lied to,” said McKinley.
One recent example is Johnson & Johnson, which this year was ordered to pay $72 million in a case that claimed longtime use of the company’s baby powder caused a woman’s cervical cancer.
Advocacy organizations are increasingly pressuring big-name retailers to be more transparent about the ingredients in their products. The Campaign for Cosmetology lists 35 substances that consumers should watch out for in their health products, including synthetic musk, talc and parabens.
“You won’t know these chemicals affect you until you start informing yourself. ... Many women will believe these companies have our best interest — and they don’t,” she said.
Regulations
Europe is well-known for its stricter regulations on companies and corporations, and whether as consequence or coincidence, is also well-known for its fresher, more natural products. That, combined with McKinley’s Irish heritage, meant her first line of products came shipped straight from her homeland.
Voya, her first brand, sells skin care items that include organic and hand-harvested Irish seaweed and in Ireland, offers seaweed baths. McKinley said Organach is the first retail store in the United States to carry Voya’s facial range and the first store in Connecticut to carry the brand.
Words like “anti-oxidants,” “calming rosemary,” “avocado oil” and “cacao” grace the ingredients list on many of McKinley’s products. Most are organic or as organic as they can be — minerals aren’t considered organic but are considered natural. So her Vapour Organic Beauty products, for example, are 70 percent organic and 30 percent natural.
On May 3, a Voya aesthetician will start coming in to Organach to give seaweed facials every Tuesday and Saturday. McKinley said she will be offering wellness workshops in the near future and hopes to have her store online in June.
And on the side, she’ll keep pursuing her acting.
“Sometimes women think they can only do one thing, but I’ve really learned you can be multi-passionate,” said McKinley. “I’m a mother, but also an actor and a business woman. I have said, ‘Why can’t I be all those things?’”
SFoster-Frau@ctpost.com; @SilviaElenaFF
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Westport-skin-care-business-puts-focus-on-health-7325122.php
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