Courts Reverse Johnson Baby Powder Settlements for Nearly $500 Million
Ms. Echeverria is among thousands of women who have filed lawsuits against Johnson Johnson after some studies found an increased risk of ovarian cancer among women who have used talc in the genital area.
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Last Tuesday, an appeals court in Missouri vacated a $72 million jury award in a case involving Jacqueline Fox, 62, of Birmingham, Ala., who died of ovarian cancer in 2015 and who had been using Johnson’s baby powder for more than 20 years. The court ruled that Missouri was not the proper jurisdiction for the lawsuit.
In a statement, Carol Goodrich, a spokeswoman for Johnson Johnson, said: “Ovarian cancer is a devastating disease — but it is not caused by the cosmetic-grade talc we have used in Johnson’s Baby Powder for decades. The science is clear and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder as we prepare for additional trials in the U.S.”
The potential dangers of talcum powder are a subject of debate within the medical field, in part because the evidence varies.
A case-control study published last year, for example, found an increased risk of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer among African-American women who use genital powder, and suggested that it might produce an inflammatory response when particles are inhaled. But other studies, which followed women over a period of time to see if they would develop cancer, have not found an increase.
National health organizations are cautious about drawing any firm conclusions. The American Cancer Society said that more studies should be done in order to determine whether today’s products are safe. Given the current research, the National Cancer Institute said that “the weight of evidence does not support an association between perineal talc exposure and an increased risk of ovarian cancer.”
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