Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST UPDATE | 20 May 2020
PHARMACEUTICAL GIANT JOHNSON & Johnson has announced that it will stop selling talc-based baby powder in the US and Canada, where sales had already been hit by changing consumer habits and fears the product causes cancer.
However, the company told TheJournal.ie that it will continue to sell the powder in Ireland. In a statement, the company said: “This decision to discontinue talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in the U.S. and Canada is based on declining consumer demand for the product, due in part to ongoing misleading litigation advertising.
“Johnson’s Baby Powder containing talc will continue to be sold in other markets around the world, including Ireland, where there is significantly higher consumer demand for the product.”
The company has long denied claims that the talc powder it uses contains cancer-causing asbestos, but has nonetheless been taken to court several thousands of times over the allegations.
In a statement early this morning, Johnson & Johnson said it remained “steadfastly confident” in the product’s safety and would “vigorously” defend against the lawsuits, noting that all guilty verdicts passed against the company have been overturned.
“As part of a portfolio assessment related to Covid-19, in March, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health stopped shipping hundreds of items in the US and Canada to prioritise high-demand products and to allow for appropriate social distancing in manufacturing and distribution facilities,” the statement said.
It then decided to discontinue around 100 products in the two countries, including the talc-based powder.
“Demand for talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fuelled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising,” the company said.
Existing stocks of the powder will be sold in the US and Canada until they run out, the company said, and the product will remain for sale in countries where there is “significantly higher consumer demand.”
Additional reporting — AFP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
I always thought scallions and spring onions were the same! Had to Google it to see the difference.
Your quizes are becoming worse and worse… yet I keep doing them!
14/15 – can’t believe I got the potato one wrong!
Since when is a scallion NOT a spring onion (asking for a friend…)
@Miriam Kelliher: Since coriander is the seed and cilantro is the leaf of the same plant.
12. I never heard of some of them .
13 out of 15. Not bad. What on God’s green earth is a persimmon
@Anna Carr: also called a kaki fruit/Sharon fruit. They’re delicious
7 out of 15, I had better not be thinking of becoming a vegetarian.
That potato one was tough
Did you know that the Catalans go mad for onions? It’s called a Calçotada, a tradition whereby people eat BBQed skinny onions (calçots) with BBQ’ed peppers and aubergine (escalivada) and meat, they dip the onions in a sauce called romesco, which is delicious.
@Jj: Did you know Videlia onions grown in Georgia, USA are so sweet many take a thick slice of the large onion and make a sandwich of it?
13…. that apple one was just random. Also got the celery one wrong.
I got 12, spring onion who knew!
How am I supposed to know the specific type of apple?
Ha. Fun.
FFS, scallions and spring onions are the same thing.
10/ 15- not to bad for a Swede…. spring onion= vårlök!!
Yeah, right
This was hard. But, I tend to buy the same few things every week so not too surprising….
10/15, would eat again.
have your say