Johnson & Johnson is finally facing a reckoning for its deadly refusal to warn women about the use of talcum powder. Like the tobacco industry, Johnson & Johnson suppressed research about the danger and used its power to stop the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from taking action. The tale of this muscling the government is now out, thanks to the product liability lawyers suing the company, and the New York Times publishing the story based on its own investigation and the internal documents the lawyers forced the company to produce.
As I reported in several posts on this blog nearly three years ago, one of the leading researchers on ovarian cancer has estimated that 10% of all the cases--more than 2000 a year--are a result of talc powder use. In its response to petitions for warning labels, the FDA acknowledged
that talc particles can enter a woman’s body via her vagina, and that such
particles can cause ovarian cancer.
Nevertheless the agency refused, and continues to refuse, to order a warning label because there is no “conclusive evidence.”
Even the National Women's Health Network, usually a reliable advocate for women, refused to include a warning in its newsletter to women when I appealed to them to act in 2015. I'm a believer in the precautionary principle, a way of managing risk. When certainty is absent, but the risk is great, the prudent thing to do is give a warning. In the case of talc, advising people to stop using the product and switch to corn starch as a good substitute, is a no-brainer.
The Times story reveals that as early as 1971, a senior staff member at Johnson & Johnson warned the company that its talc could be contaminated with asbestos, a notorious carcinogen.
Using Dr. Daniel Cramer's estimate of 10% of cases caused by talc use, that means that perhaps 100,000 women have suffered and most likely died unnecessarily since the company learned of the problem.
Johnson & Johnson is now facing nearly 12,000 ovarian cancer lawsuits, a fact that caused its stock to drop last Friday by 10 percent.
Dropping stock prices and billion dollar injury verdicts are hardly sufficient penalty for Johnson & Johnson's callous disregard for women's safety. Those responsible should go to jail.##
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