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