Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is in hot water after receiving complaints that its talcum-based Shower-to-Shower body powder and Baby Powder may increase ovarian cancer risk based on several studies made.
Over a thousand consumers of the said powder for feminine hygiene have filed lawsuits against the company, according to Consumer Safety Watch, a consumer advocate group that assists people who have incurred injuries from negligent products, pharmaceutical items, drugs, or medical devices.
The complainants claimed the latter’s failure to stipulate adequate warnings about the possible risk to the public.
The first complaint filed against the company was by Deane Berg.
J&J offered out-of-court settlement of $1.3 million to Berg to prevent her from bringing her case to court in 2013, but the latter turned down.
Since then more cases have been filed with some complainants receiving substantial settlements.
The most famous was a jury verdict of $72 million to the family of a woman from Alabama who died of ovarian cancer from the use of J&J’s talc-based body power.
In 1971, British researchers established the first connection when they discovered “deeply embedded” talc particles in 10 out of 13 ovarian tumors under scrutiny.
A research by the medical journal Cancer in 1982 also signified that with prolonged use, talc particles could go inside the female upper genital tract that may cause cancer in the ovaries.
Three decades passed, many other new studies likewise looked into the possible link between the two, eventually uncovering risk of possibly as high as 33 percent.
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