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Johnson & Johnson to Dump Talc-Based Baby Powder After Cancer Lawsuits

The company will switch its baby powder formula to begin using cornstarch, stopping sales of the talcum powder versions by 2023.

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson will cease global sales of its talc-based baby powder by 2023, the company said Thursday. The announcement came more than two years after the controversial product was pulled off U.S. and Canadian shelves after tens of thousands of lawsuits were filed by women, many of whom claimed that alleged asbestos contamination in the talcum-based formula had caused them to develop diseases like ovarian cancer or mesothelioma. The drugmaker said that a “worldwide portfolio assessment” had led to the decision to shift to a cornstarch-based baby powder instead. It denied claims related to the dangers of the talcum powder formula. “We stand firmly behind the decades of independent scientific analysis by medical experts around the world that confirms talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer,” the company said Thursday.