Johnson & Johnson has faced tens of thousands of lawsuits over allegations that its talc-based products developed cancer among users. The company says its powder products are safe. AFP Contributor / AFP via Getty Images Hide caption
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AFP Contributor / AFP via Getty Images
Johnson & Johnson has faced tens of thousands of lawsuits over allegations that its talc-based products developed cancer among users. The company says its powder products are safe.
AFP Contributor / AFP via Getty Images
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson marketed its talc-based powder products specifically to black women, despite evidence that the products cause cancer, a new lawsuit alleges.
The complaint filed by the National Council of Negro Women alleges that the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company made black women a “central part” of its business strategy but failed to warn them of the potential dangers of the powder products it sells.
“This company used words and pictures to tell black women that we are offensive in our natural state and must use their products to stay fresh,” said Janice Mathis, executive director of the National Council of Negro Women, in a statement.
“Generations of black women have believed them and made it our daily practice to use their products in ways that put us at risk of cancer – and we taught our daughters to do the same. A shame on Johnson and Johnson, ”she said.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal disputes against Johnson & Johnson over allegations that its talc products, such as baby powder, caused users to develop diseases such as ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. The company has faced more than 25,000 lawsuits related to the products and has allocated nearly $ 4 billion to help fight the litigation, according to the New York Times.
Johnson & Johnson has long claimed that its talc-based products are safe and non-carcinogenic. Talc product sales in the United States and Canada were suspended last year after a series of costly court settlements.
In a statement sent to NPR, the company denied claims that it singled out black women as part of a “bad intentions” -promoted marketing campaign.
“The allegations made against our company are false, and the idea that our company is deliberately and systematically targeting a community with bad intentions is unreasonable and absurd,” the statement said. “Johnson’s Baby Powder is safe and our campaigns are multicultural and inclusive.”
According to the lawsuit, an internal presentation in 2006 suggested that Johnson & Johnson should market its lagging powder products to “heavy consumers” such as black women. The data showed that 60% of black women were using baby powder at the time, compared to just 30% of the general population.
Johnson & Johnson later hired a company that distributed 100,000 gift bags of powdered products to churches and other locations in Chicago, launched a radio campaign in the southern United States targeting “curvy southern women,” and considered hiring Patti LaBelle or Aretha Franklin as speakers . among other things, it says in the lawsuit.
The council, which said a “large proportion” of its members use Johnson & Johnson powder products and that “many have developed ovarian cancer as a result,” is hoping a court will force the company to inform black women of the targets his marketing efforts about the potential dangers of using the company’s powder products.
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