Johnson & Johnson has been faced with several lawsuits over the past year which claim that popular Johnson & Johnson products Shower to Shower and Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder can lead to the development of ovarian cancer.

Plaintiffs allege that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn the public about the baby powder cancer risks that are associated with their products, which contain talcum powder (the alleged source of ovarian cancer).

Talcum Powder

Talcum powder (talc) is a powder which is intended to absorb moisture. It is a combination of magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. Talc powder was previously known to contain asbestos, a dangerous substance which can cause mesothelioma, but the asbestos was removed from the talc powder due to health concerns.

Talc powder is said to increase the risk of ovarian cancer in women who consistently use talc powder in their pelvic region by 24 percent. The Cancer Prevention Research journal suggested that women who used talc powder had a 20-30 percent chance of developing baby powder cancer. The talc particles can travel into the body and cause inflammation. Inflammation can give cancer cells the opportunity to form and grow. Sometimes, talc particles will remain in the body for years.

Various studies have suggested that talc powder has the possibility to travel throughout a woman’s genital area and reproductive system. Some found a significant increase in baby powder cancer for talc powder users while others found a smaller increase. Even if the risk of ovarian cancer is smaller than generally believed, these findings support the idea that Johnson & Johnson products should include an ovarian cancer risk warning on the label. Talc powder is still widely used in various products today.

Baby Powder Ovarian Cancer Risks

According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 22,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014 alone, with just over 14,000 fatal cases. Researchers are unsure as to how many of these ovarian cancer cases will be caused by talc powder.

Johnson & Johnson creates some of the most widely used products in the country. Nearly 40 percent of women claimed that they used baby powder after showering. This could potentially create shocking numbers of baby powder cancer. The potential risk of baby powder cancer was generally unknown for decades, risking hundreds of thousands of women who used baby powder in their pelvic region.

Johnson & Johnson was first faced with a baby powder cancer lawsuit in 2013. The plaintiff alleged that J&J failed to give adequate warning of talc-based ovarian cancer. Many other women are filing baby powder cancer lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, and a baby powder cancer class action lawsuit investigation is underway. These baby powder lawsuits hope to hold Johnson & Johnson accountable for possibly causing baby powder cancer in many American women.