Talcum powder has been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years and is used by millions of people around the world every day. It’s used to prevent diaper rash, to dry the hands of baseball pitchers, and to smooth cosmetics. Talcum powder can even be a food additive. All this talcum powder use leads the average consumer to assume that talcum powder is safe. But is it?
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) lost a $72 million cancer lawsuit in Missouri last month over its talcum powder products Baby Powder and Shower to Shower. What does it mean that a jury decided to hold J&J liable for fraud, negligence, and conspiracy for $72 million, essentially blaming the company for a woman’s ovarian cancer? It means there are talcum powder dangers you should know about.
Is Baby Powder Safe?
The ingredients listed on J&J’s Baby Powder are talc and perfume. Setting aside the question of all the random chemicals that might be called “perfume,” let’s instead focus on talc.
Talc is a mineral that must be mined and then ground into powder, resulting in talcum powder. Talc is often found with asbestos, which can end up being ground into the powder as well.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) asserts that talcum powder in the US has been asbestos-free since the 1970s, which means that Baby Powder should be asbestos-free. So does this mean that Baby Powder is safe? Not so fast…
Research Into Talcum Powder Dangers Is Inconclusive
The cancer-causing dangers of asbestos are well known by most people, but does its removal from talcum powder ensure Baby Powder’s safety? Here’s what we know about the research into talcum powder dangers:
- Human research studies about talc’s possible link to various cancers – including ovarian, lung, uterine, and stomach cancer – are also largely inconclusive. Some studies show a slight increase in risk while other show no increase.
- For ovarian cancer, there are also issues with how the studies were conducted – some relying solely on a woman’s memory rather than on observed behavior.
- Regarding talc’s association with cancer, be it causal or correlational, the ACS says, “Research in this area continues.”
Ongoing Questions
As you can see, there are plenty of unanswered questions about talcum powder dangers, even within J&J:
- Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder is clearly marked as having “talc from China.” Although the company’s blog assures consumers of talc’s safety, does talc mined from China continue to be pure of asbestos like talc in the US?
- On the other hand, an internal J&J memo presented in the Missouri lawsuit suggested that denying a link to ovarian cancer would be “denying the obvious in the face of all evidence to the contrary.”
For more information on the recent J&J lawsuit about talcum powder dangers, read Lawsuit Plaintiffs Say Talcum Powder Causes Cancer.
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