Johnson & Johnson baby powder may vanish from UK stores

Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson is facing a push from London-based investment platform to halt its sales of talc-based baby powder across the world, including the UK, amid concerns over alleged links to cancer, stated recent reports.

The shareholder vote has been proposed by Tulipshare, a London-based investment platform that allows customers to pool shares in order to meet the threshold to submit resolutions for shareholder votes. 

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) withdrew its talc-based baby powder from sale in the US and Canada in 2020. Sales of baby powder had dropped after US regulators detected carcinogenic chrysotile fibres, a type of asbestos, in a sample.

Talc, the world’s softest mineral, is mined in several countries, with uses across industries as diverse as paper, plastics and pharmaceuticals. Talc’s astringent properties mean it is used to treat nappy rash and for other personal hygiene uses.

However, talc deposits can sometimes be contaminated with asbestos, a mineral that can cause cancer if its fibres enter the body.

As per reports, the company is now facing more than 34,000 lawsuits including many from women who claim they used baby powder and later developed ovarian cancer.

J&J, meanwhile, continues to deny that its baby powder is harmful and said it only pulled the product in North America after a slump in sales “fuelled by misinformation around the safety of the product”. 

“We stand behind the ingredients we use in our products, and Johnson & Johnson has a rigorous testing standard in place to ensure our cosmetic talc is safe,” reports quoted a spokesperson as saying.

Ian Lavery, a Labour MP, last year sponsored an early-day motion in parliament condemning the “hypercritical and unjustifiable” decision by J&J to continue to sell talcum powder products outside North America. Lavery said he welcomed the attempt to force a shareholder vote.

“It is shocking that products that we know can cause serious illness through contamination with asbestos are still available to buy in the UK, or anywhere else in the world for that matter,” he said.