Editing Talc (section)

==Litigation==

In 2006 the [[International Agency for Research on Cancer]] classified talcum powder as a possible human carcinogen if used in the female genital area. Despite this, no federal agency in the US acted to remove talcum powder from the market or add warnings.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/health/417-million-awarded-in-suit-tying-johnsons-baby-powder-to-cancer.html|title=$417 Million Awarded in Suit Tying Johnson's Baby Powder to Cancer|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 August 2017|access-date=13 July 2018|last1=Rabin|first1=Roni Caryn}}</ref>

In February 2016, as the result of a lawsuit against [[Johnson & Johnson]] (J&J), a [[St. Louis]] jury awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died from [[ovarian cancer]]. The family claimed that the use of talcum powder was responsible for her cancer.

In May 2016, a South Dakota woman was awarded $55 million as the result of another lawsuit against J&J.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/05/03/news/companies/johnson-and-johnson-cancer-talcum-powder/index.html|title=Johnson & Johnson just lost another talcum powder cancer lawsuit|last=McLean|first=Rob|date=2016-05-03|website=CNNMoney|access-date=2016-08-18}}</ref> The woman had used Johnson & Johnson's [[Baby Powder]] for more than 35 years before being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Professor Hanington's Speaking of Science: Does talc cause cancer?|url=https://elkodaily.com/lifestyles/professor-haningtons-speaking-of-science-does-talc-cause-cancer/article_74d2eef7-6c68-504e-8c46-8c41898b2884.html|access-date=2021-03-09|website=Elko Daily Free Press|date=15 October 2016 |language=en}}</ref>

In October 2016, a St. Louis jury awarded $70.1 million to a Californian woman with ovarian cancer who had used Johnson's Baby Powder for 45 years.<ref name="latimes-2016-10-28">[http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-baby-powder-cancer-20161028-story.html#nt=oft07a-2gp1 Does baby powder cause cancer? Another jury thinks so, awarding $70 million to a California woman]. ''[[LA Times]]'' (2016-10-28). Retrieved on 2017-05-06.</ref>

In August 2017, a Los Angeles jury awarded $417 million to a Californian woman, Eva Echeverria, who developed ovarian cancer as a  "proximate result of the unreasonably dangerous and defective nature of talcum powder", her lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson stated.<ref>[http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1496091-jury-awards-417m-in-lawsuit-linking-talcum-powder-to-cancer Jury awards $417M in lawsuit linking talcum powder to cancer]. The Chronicle Herald (21 August 2017)</ref> On 20 October 2017, [[Los Angeles Superior Court]] judge Maren Nelson dismissed the verdict. The judge stated that Echeverria proved there is "an ongoing debate in the scientific and medical community about whether talc more probably than not causes ovarian cancer and thus (gives) rise to a duty to warn", but not enough to sustain the jury's imposition of liability against Johnson & Johnson stated, and concluded that Echeverria did not adequately establish that talc causes ovarian cancer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-cancer-lawsuit/california-judge-tosses-417-million-talc-cancer-verdict-against-johnson-johnson-idUSKBN1CQ003|title=California judge tosses $417 million talc cancer verdict against...|first=Tina|last=Bellon|work=Reuters|date=21 October 2017|access-date=13 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/frankel-jj-talc/dismissal-of-472-million-verdict-v-jj-is-disaster-for-talc-plaintiffs-idUSKBN1CS2SA|title=Dismissal of $417 million verdict v. J&J is disaster for talc...|first=Alison|last=Frankel|work=Reuters|date=24 October 2017|access-date=13 July 2018}}</ref>

In July 2018, a court in [[St. Louis]] awarded a $4.7bn claim ($4.14bn in punitive damages and $550m in compensatory damages) against J&J to 22 claimant women, concluding that the company had suppressed evidence of [[asbestos]] in its products for more than four decades.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/13/johnson-johnson-ordered-to-pay-47bn-in-talc-powder-claim|title=Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $4.7bn in talc powder claim|first=Sarah|last=Butler|date=13 July 2018|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=13 July 2018}}</ref>

At least 1,200 to 2,000 other talcum powder-related lawsuits were pending {{As of|2016|lc=y}}.<ref name="latimes-2016-10-28" /><ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/woman-wins-55m-verdict-johnson-johnson-cancer-suit-article-1.2623470 Woman wins $55M verdict against Johnson & Johnson in cancer suit]. NY Daily News (3 May 2016)</ref>

In 2020 J&J stopped sales of its talcum-based baby powder, which it had been selling for 130 years. J&J created a subsidiary responsible for the claims in an effort to resolve the lawsuits in bankruptcy court. In 2023 J&J proposed a nearly $9bn settlement with 50,000 claimants saying the claims were "specious" but it wanted to move on from the issue, but judges blocked the plans, ruling that the subsidiary was not in financial distress and could not use the bankruptcy system to resolve the lawsuits.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-01-23 |title=J&J strikes US states deal over baby powder claims |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68072951 |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In July 2023 J&J sued researchers who linked talc to cancer alleging they used [[junk science]] to disparage company's products, while defendants say the lawsuits are meant to silence scientists.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Knauth |first=Dietrich |date=2023-07-13 |title=Johnson & Johnson sues researchers who linked talc to cancer |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/johnson-johnson-sues-researchers-who-linked-talc-cancer-2023-07-13/ |access-date=2023-07-17}}</ref>