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14th Dec 2018

New report indicates Johnson & Johnson knew about asbestos in its baby powder for decades

Rory Cashin

baby powder

The company has faced thousands of lawsuits alleging its talc baby powder products contain asbestos and caused ovarian and other cancers.

It is being claimed that Johnson & Johnson have known for decades that there was asbestos present in their baby powder products.

In an exclusive by Reuters (which you can read in full here), an examination of reports state the following:

“[The] examination of many of the documents, as well as deposition and trial testimony, shows that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, the company’s raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos, and that company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers fretted over the problem and how to address it while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public.”

Since the report has been released, share prices in J&J have plummeted by almost 10%.

The company have released a response to the report, stating that:

“Simply put, the Reuters story is an absurd conspiracy theory, in that it apparently has spanned over 40 years, orchestrated among generations of global regulators, the world’s foremost scientists and universities, leading independent labs, and J&J employees themselves.”

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