Johnson & Johnson Is Being Sued By A Group Of Black Women Over Baby Powder

Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : July 30, 2021

The American Council of Negro Ladies has submitted a legal lawsuit on account of the National Council of Negro Females, alleging that talcum in Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powders causes cancers.

The central charge leveled on Johnson & Johnson in these & other cases is because the business knew its goods could induce cancers while marketing them. Johnson & Johnson has faced over 25,000 claims over its talcum goods, including accusations that it causes prostate cancer, and set aside roughly $4 billion to deal with the litigation challenges that year.

Johnson & Johnson Is Being Sued By A Group Of Black Women Over Baby Powder

There are many cases for different such goods were a variety of unwanted elements that may cause serious health issues among users but with findings of the same company has faced such suits over a period and yet the same is happening.

Johnson & Johnson Is Being Sued By A Group Of Black Women Over Baby Powder

Notwithstanding corporate fears that the item could be dangerous, the organization is charged for the business of “knowingly deceptive marketing to Black women” for decades with free samples at beauty salons, radio commercials, and other initiatives. This has increased the business for the company at the cost of the lives of users which it must care for and not having shown seriousness to users may lead it to have some more penalties.

The International Council of Negro Female‘s newest lawsuit highlights the racist implications of Johnson & Johnson’s marketing tactic: concentrating on a group that the company understood is greater prone to utilize baby powder regularly yet is at a disadvantage when coping with possible repercussions.

A few of the lawsuits blamed health complications on asbestos-contaminated talc; private corporate records suggest that management was aware of these risks for years. Throughout the mining, mesothelioma, a toxic chemical, could contaminate the talcum.

“You’re in kind of a Catch-22 without insurance, later in the disease, not getting good advice, and then add to that a corporation that is intentionally targeting you,” said Ms. Mathis, who was accompanied by the relatives of women who used baby powder and died of ovarian cancer.

Janice Mathis, the group’s chief executive, said during a news conference in Washington on Tuesday that Black females often got subpar health advice, are uninsured, and were diagnosed longer than white people.

Wanda Tideline, one of the speakers at Tuesday’s gathering, said she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 despite her family’s lack of a history of the disease. She claimed to have been a long-time user of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder.

“Because of the advertising, I felt that it was safe,” she said.

 “The accusations being made against our company are false, and the idea that we would purposefully and systematically target a community with bad intentions is unreasonable and absurd,” the company said.

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The lawsuit laid out several examples of Johnson & Johnson’s targeted advertising, including a 1992 internal memo that noted the “high usage” of baby powder among Black women, the “opportunities to grow the franchise” among the demographic, and “negative publicity from the health community on talc.”

The year before, the business announced that it could stop selling talc-based newborn powders in North America, claiming a drop in consumption as a result of shifting customer preferences and security concerns.

In some talc instances, Johnson & Johnson had won, while in others it has lost. In June, the corporation attempted to have a multibillion-dollar verdict against 22 consumers overturned, but the Supreme Court refused to hear its appeal. Many other claims were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation lawsuit getting processed in federal district courts in New Jersey, with the initial case set to go to a jury by April, according to the presiding judge.


Nikki Attkisson

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.

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