(Newswire.net— May 21, 2020) — Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it would stop selling its talcum-based Johnson’s baby powder in the United States and Canada, the Guardian reports.
The pharmaceutical giant said it halted selling its baby powder as part of a broad reassessment by citizens who claim the talc induced cancer to some children.
The corporation has received thousands of lawsuits from consumers who claim that children have developed cancer because of this product. The decision to withdraw from the US and Canada markets came after years of litigation.
Johnson & Johnson persistently claimed that their product was safe, however, it was ordered to pay billions of dollars in damages.
It was decided that sales of products that make up 0.5 percent of their business in the U.S. would be stopped, but that traders would be able to continue trading with existing inventory.
The company was sued by 16,000 consumers who claim that the baby powder contains asbestos which is known to be carcinogenic.
It was announced that the demand for Johnson’s baby powder in North America has dropped and as a result of which there have been large changes in consumer habits, fueled by misinformation about the safety of their products.
The statement says that the company is constantly facing lawyers who offer clients to sue them.
“We still claim with certainty that the baby powder is safe. “Independent scientific studies by medical experts around the world have confirmed that,” the statement said.
J&J continues selling baby powder containing talc in other markets around the world and will continue selling cornstarch-based baby powder in the North American market, the company said.
They add that the inspection of their products has been restarted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The New York Times and Reuters launched an investigation that revealed a bulk of internal documents from Johnson & Johnson that confirmed company executives were worried about their talcum products, including possible asbestos contamination.
Last October, it was announced that asbestos was found in traces of baby powder during testing, which was conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Johnson and Johnson filed a countersuit in 2018 against a lawsuit worth 4.7 billion dollars, which was filed against them by 22 women, claiming that they developed ovarian cancer from their products.