Thousands of people have taken legal action against pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, claiming it knowingly sold talcum powder contaminated with asbestos in the UK.
Up to 3,000 people have claimed they or a family member developed forms of ovarian cancer or mesothelioma from using Johnson’s Baby Powder, and are seeking damages at the High Court in London.
Johnson & Johnson, along with its current and former subsidiaries, Johnson & Johnson Management and Kenvue UK, should bear responsibility, the group’s lawyers said in court documents filed Thursday.
They said Johnson & Johnson had “concealed” the risks to the public for decades, having replaced talc with cornstarch in its baby powder in the UK since 2023.
A spokesman for Kenvue, which was formerly J&J’s consumer health division and now handles talc claims outside the U.S. and Canada, said the talc used in its baby powder complies with regulations, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer.
Talc is a natural mineral that is extracted from the earth.
“There are very few, if any, commercially exploited talc deposits in the world that do not contain asbestos, and all of the mines supplying the defendants contain asbestos,” Michael Rawlinson KC, on behalf of the group of people bringing the suit, said in court documents.
He also said that reports from these mines, combined with its own research along with existing scientific literature, would have informed Johnson & Johnson about asbestos contamination.
However, the lawyer added, the company “withheld information that might indicate that the baby powder was contaminated with asbestos.”
He also said that Johnson & Johnson “lobbied regulators” to enable continued sales of its products and sponsored studies in an attempt to “minimize the risks” to human health.
Rawlinson said Johnson & Johnson “acted in bad faith to protect the reputation of baby powder and the potential for profit and goodwill associated with its name.”
Johnson & Johnson denies the allegations, including any allegations that it knowingly sold baby powder contaminated with asbestos.
Janet Fuschello, one of the people who brought the case, said she had used Johnson & Johnson baby powder since the 1960s, and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer seven years ago.
The 75-year-old said: “I have used talc on myself and all four of my children… I have been using talc when I change diapers, after showering, all the time, for almost 50 years.
“It is a source of great concern and anger that I used talc on my children.”
Patricia Angell said her husband, Edward, died in 2006 at the age of 64, a few weeks after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma.
She described him as a “healthy, fit man” who worked as an electrician and was aware of asbestos.
“When he got sick, the doctors asked him if he had ever been in contact with asbestos, and he told them he had never been exposed to it,” she said.
“He would come home from work, shower every day, and use Johnson & Johnson talcum powder…talc was mentioned in Edward’s autopsy report, along with strains of asbestos found in the contaminated talc.”
She added that her husband had “robbed” 19 years of her children’s lives from the father.
Mesothelioma, a form of cancer, is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos, according to the NHS, and usually forms in the lungs after inhaling microscopic fibres.
Rawlinson said the method of applying baby powder – squeezing or shaking the bottle – means that “clouds” of powder hang in the air “for a very long time after use” and are inhaled by the person using it.
A Kinvio spokesman said: “We have great sympathy for people affected by cancer. We understand that they and their families want answers – which is why the facts are so important.
“The safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder is backed by years of testing by leading independent laboratories, universities and health authorities in the UK and around the world.
“The high-quality talc used in Johnson’s Cosmetics was compliant with any required regulatory standards, contains no asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”