Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai. Johnson & Johnson has decided to stop selling its talcum baby powder worldwide by 2023 as it has been troubled by the perennial legal battle. The company's powder has already been discontinued in the US and Canada a year ago. In fact, it was alleged that this baby powder causes cancer and after this thousands of cases were filed against the company worldwide. Not only this, there was a huge drop in the sales of the product after the cancer apprehension report came to the fore. "As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have decided to discontinue the sale of all cornstarch-based baby powders," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement on Thursday.
19,400 cases registered against the company
At present, 19,400 court cases are registered against J&J worldwide. It has been alleged that people have got ovarian cancer due to its talcum powder. This leads to mesothelioma cancer that attacks the lungs and other organs. In the cases in which the court's decision has come so far, in 12, the company has won, while in 15 the decision came against it.
Powder is always safe: J&J
The company itself did research on its powder and claimed that its talcum baby powder is safe and does not cause cancer. 'Whether or not the powder actually causes cancer, people are hesitant to use the product,' Eric Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's business school, had said. This is the reason why the sales of the product decreased worldwide and now the company has decided to stop selling. J&J said Thursday that it has taken a "commercial decision" to use cornstarch instead of talcum powder for all of its baby powder products after assessing its portfolio. The health group that keeps the product safe has faced nearly a decade of lawsuits alleging that its talc-based baby powder has been tied up to hide cancer risks.
Powder being sold since 1894
Johnson Baby Powder, being sold since 1894, became the comp any's symbol product due to being family-friendly. Since 1999, the company's internal baby products division used to do its marketing representation. It mainly consists of baby powder, as in J&J's "#1 asset."
