China Business Daily (reporter Ma Jia) recently reported that Johnson & Johnson plans to use $700 million to reach a settlement agreement on the carcinogenic investigation of baby powder. A reporter from China Business Daily noticed that the company still denies that related products can cause cancer and has not carried out a unified recall of products. However, the official reporters of Johnson & Johnson on Tmall, Jingdong and other e-commerce platforms have not been able to search for baby talcum powder, prickly heat powder and other products containing talcum powder, and even talcum powder products containing corn starch have disappeared. And ** under the supermarket, related products are still on sale.
Johnson & Johnson baby talcum powder sold in the daily chemical products section of the supermarket. **Unrelated, only a data map. (*Courtesy of CNSPHOTO).
Talcum powder, prickly heat powder and other products disappeared on the line Johnson & Johnson did not uniformly recall.
In Johnson & Johnson's Tmall, Jingdong *** reporter has not been able to search for any baby powder, prickly heat powder products, the reporter asked customer service as a consumer, customer service said "the store does not have this product for the time being, when the time on the shelves has not been determined."
Recently, foreign media reported that Johnson & Johnson has preliminarily agreed to pay about 700 million US dollars (about 5 billion yuan) in response to an investigation conducted by more than 40 states in the United States about the company's baby powder. In addition, the attorney general of Florida also said that in several states in the United States, investigations into the carcinogenesis of Johnson & Johnson baby powder are still ongoing, and these investigations "have not yet reached a settlement agreement."
The reporter consulted Johnson & Johnson China on the issue of product processing in the Chinese market, but the other party did not give a clear answer.
It is reported that in August 2023, Johnson & Johnson has split its medical and health products business and consumer health products business into two companies, Johnson & Johnson (Johnson & Johnson) and Kenvue. The reporter also noticed that before and after the split, Johnson & Johnson has never recalled baby talcum powder, prickly heat powder and other products in the Chinese market.
In a previous reply to reporters, Johnson & Johnson has always denied that related products can cause cancer, and it has said that the company's consistent position on the safety of talcum powder products has not changed. Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder is safe and does not cause cancer; The safety of talcum powder for cosmetics has been supported by medical research from around the world for more than 40 years.
According to the data, since 2014, Johnson & Johnson's baby powder and other products have been caught in a carcinogenic storm. Some consumers have alleged that their baby powder and other talcum powder products contain asbestos, causing cancer in long-term users. According to relevant statistics, Johnson & Johnson is still facing as many as 50,000 lawsuits.
Offline dealers: product purchase channels are still unimpeded.
In a number of large supermarkets and beauty collection stores in Xicheng District, Chaoyang District, and Fengtai District of Beijing, the reporter still saw Johnson & Johnson baby talcum powder, prickly heat powder and other products. The salesperson said that the product had been on sale and had not been notified to take it off the shelves.
A reporter from China Business Daily consulted several dealers as a buyer, and the other party said that the product purchase channel is unimpeded, and it is the first of Johnson & Johnson, and retailers around the country can sell normally. The removal of official products from the shelves may also drive consumers to buy offline.
In addition, the reporter noticed that most of the talcum powders of other brands on sale in offline supermarkets are talcum powders containing cornstarch, and most brands are avoiding talcum powder. There are also salespeople who will emphasize the safety of talcum powder products containing corn starch to reporters, and say that the brand provides relevant proof that the product does not contain talcum powder.
The relevant person in charge of Guangzhou Lanya Cosmetics Factory, which is engaged in OEM processing, previously told reporters that the customized requirements of domestic brands for talcum powder are talcum powder-free. In terms of cost, corn starch is actually more cost-effective, and the trend of using corn starch as a raw material for talcum powder is also a welcome sight for brands.
Admitting compensation and not admitting fault The lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson continues to "see-saw".
As of press time, Johnson & Johnson and Kefu have not given a relevant answer to "whether they will continue to sell talcum powder products in the future".
According to foreign media reports, the "payment of $700 million to reach a settlement agreement" is part of Johnson & Johnson's strategy, which aims to curb the growing number of lawsuits over its baby powder products. But that doesn't mean Johnson & Johnson admits that talcum-containing talcum powder products cause cancer.
In April 2023, Johnson & Johnson announced that it plans to pay $8.9 billion in compensation over the next 25 years in response to the "talc carcinogenic lawsuit". But in July 2023, Johnson & Johnson sued four doctors for publishing a study on "talcum powder causes cancer." Johnson & Johnson argued that the researchers published research content with "false narratives" that disparaged Johnson & Johnson's products, and that providing such research content allowed researchers to receive millions of dollars in compensation from plaintiffs' lawyers.
Is talcum powder with talcum powder safe? Multiple allegations against Johnson & Johnson allege that its baby powder and other talcum powder products contain asbestos, a carcinogen. It is reported that asbestos is a natural fibrous silicate mineral, which is non-toxic, but because some asbestos particles are extremely fine, they are scattered in the air in the form of dust, and are easily deposited in the lungs after being inhaled, resulting in organ cancer.
A doctor in a public hospital once explained to reporters that talcum powder is widely used in various cosmetics, especially powdered cosmetics. However, talcum powder added to talcum powder should ensure 100% purity, because talcum powder is in powder form, and there may be hidden dangers of dust inhalation when babies use it.
Pure talcum powder should be used in talcum powder, and the packaging requirements will be very strict, requiring it to be in a vacuum state. The general talcum powder is placed in an iron can, which is easy to become damp, and the use of asbestos can play a role in moisture absorption. Some talcum powders add asbestos to talcum powder to increase its volume and reduce costs. Said the above-mentioned ** doctor.