A baby powder lawsuit alleging a link between talc and cancer has been filed against Johnson & Johnson, makers of Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.

Plaintiff Rogenna K. says Staci C. used talcum powder on her perineal area from 1990 through 2008. Staci died of ovarian cancer in 2012. She was 39 years old.

Talc and Cancer Linked Years Ago

According to plaintiffs in this ongoing talc and cancer litigation, the United States National Toxicology Program determined that talc was a carcinogen in 1993. While often mined in conjunction with asbestos, researchers found evidence of carcinogenic (cancer-causing) activity in talc that was not tainted with fellow carcinogen asbestos.

Plaintiffs say Johnson & Johnson responded to those findings by joining with the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association along with the talc mining company now known as Imerys Talc to form the Talc Interested Party Task Force (TIPTF). Their primary mission was “to pool financial resources of these companies in an effort to collectively defend the use of talc and, specifically, talc based body powers at all costs, in anticipation of future litigation, ensure self-regulation, and to prevent local, state or federal regulation of any type over this industry.”

The TIPTF allegedly hired scientists to perform biased research according to the plaintiffs, and it “knowingly released false information or concealed information about the safety of talc to the consuming public, and used political and economic influence on local, state and federal regulatory bodies regarding talc.”

The talc and cancer lawsuit says that for more than 40 years, Johnson & Johnson has allegedly attempted to “prevent regulation of talc and to create confusion to the consuming public about the true hazards of talc relative to cancer.”

Talc and Cancer Linked in Ovarian Cancer Studies

Dr. W.J. Henderson led a study in Cardiff, Wales in 1971 that was one of the first to suggest a link between talc and ovarian cancer.

In November 1994, the Cancer Prevention Coalition sent a letter to Ralph Larson, who was Johnson & Johnson’s CEO at the time. The letter said “that studies as far back as the 1960’s ‘…show conclusively that the frequent use of talcum powder in the genital area poses a serious health risk of ovarian cancer.’”

According to the talc and cancer lawsuit, “the letter cited a study by Dr. Bernard Harlow from Harvard Medical School confirming this fact and quoted a portion of the study where Dr. Harlow and his colleagues discouraged the use of talc in the female genital area.”

The letter asked Johnson & Johnson to withdraw its talc products from the market and replace them with cornstarch-based powders, or at the very least, place a warning label on the talc-based powders regarding the risk of ovarian cancer.

In February 2006, the International Association for Research on Cancer (IARC) deemed the perineal use of talc-based powder as a “Group 2B” human carcinogen.

The Talc and Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-04896-FLW-LGH in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.