J&J says demand for the product has dropped in the wake of ‘misinformation’ about its safety amid a barrage of legal challenges
Picture: GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/JUSTIN SULLIVAN
In its statement, J&J said it “remains steadfastly confident in the safety of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder”, citing “decades of scientific studies”. US representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who led the congressional inquiry, described J&J’s decision to stop selling talc baby powder as “a major victory for public health”, adding: “My subcommittee’s 14-month investigation revealed that Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that its product contains asbestos.”
In August, an Oklahoma judge rendered the first verdict in that litigation, ordering J&J to pay $572.1m to the state for its part in fuelling an opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing addictive painkillers.J&J on Tuesday said it had stopped shipping talc baby powder when the Covid-19 crisis led to limits on shopping and manufacturing, and that now it would wind down North American sales.
Christie Nordhielm, a professor of marketing at Georgetown, said it appears J&J made its decision to withdraw from the market while consumers are preoccupied with the pandemic. “It’s a nice time to quietly do it,” she said, adding “it will minimise the reputational hit.”“We will continue to vigorously defend the product, its safety, and the unfounded allegations against it and the company in the courtroom,” J&J said.
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