Johnson and Johnson announced on Tuesday that they would no longer be selling its talc-based baby powder in the United States and Canada. In an official statement, the company cited decreasing sales due to misinformation as the reason for the discontinuation.
Demand for talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising.”
Johnson and Johnson
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The company’s talc-based baby powder has been the subject of more than 19,000 lawsuits and intense scrutiny after investigative reports, trial testimonies, internal company records, and other evidence found that Johnson and Johnson knew the product contained asbestos. The evidence found tests proving small amounts of asbestos were in the company’s baby powder from 1971 to as recently as the early 2000s. There is also a federal criminal investigation into Johnson and Johnson’s lack of transparency in regard to the asbestos issue.
Johnson and Johnson’s decision to drop talc-based baby powder from its North American profile has also been influenced by COVID-19 concerns. The company is choosing to focus on more high-demand in an effort to make social distancing easier, although they are still planning to sell the talc-based baby powder in other markets internationally.