Baby powder is commonly used for hygienic purposes, especially among women. Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Body Powder are among the top choices, and also among the top sources of concerns as of late. These popular body powders contain an active ingredient, talcum, which has been found to cause cancer.

Women often  use Johnson’s Baby Powder on their genitals, which can allow the talc particles to travel into their ovaries. Once the talc powder travels into the ovaries, it can lead to the growth of cancer cells.

An estimated 40 percent of women in the United States use baby powder, which makes the stakes high. In some studies, women were found to be at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer by 24 percent after regular use of baby powder.

Johnson & Johnson has faced numerous ovarian cancer lawsuits in the past, with the first baby powder lawsuit going to trial in October 2013. Johnson & Johnson has been accused by plaintiffs of failing to properly warn consumers about the increased risk of developing ovarian cancer after using its baby powder products.

Baby Powder Cancer Studies

According to Cancer.org, “one analysis combining data from 16 studies published before 2003 found about a 30% increase in ovarian risk among talc users. The average woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is about 1.4%, so even with a 30% increase, her lifetime risk would be about 1.8%.”

Especially after decades of use, women are most susceptible in their later years.

As more individual baby powder lawsuits are filed, the possibility of a baby powder class action lawsuit has increased. With a baby powder class action lawsuit, a group of plaintiffs that share similar allegations may file a single, class action lawsuit against the corporation.