Johnson & Johnson faces UK lawsuit over alleged asbestos in baby powder
More than 3,000 people accuse health care giant of knowingly selling contaminated products linked to cancer
LONDON
Johnson & Johnson, the US-based health care multinational, is facing a major lawsuit in the UK, where more than 3,000 people claim the company knowingly sold talcum (talc) powder contaminated with asbestos, leading to cases of cancer.
According to British media reports, the case, filed at the High Court in London by KP Law, accuses J&J and Kenvue UK — a company spun off from J&J in 2023 — of selling products that allegedly caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma between 1965 and 2023.
According to the claimants, J&J’s baby powder contained carcinogenic fibers, including asbestos, and the company concealed the risk from consumers for decades.
J&J stopped selling its talc-based baby powder in the US in 2020 and globally in 2023, switching to a cornstarch-based version.
Kenvue said in a statement that J&J baby powder “did not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”
The company is already facing tens of thousands of similar lawsuits in the US, where claimants allege they developed cancer after using its talc-based products.
Last week, J&J was ordered to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma — one of the largest awards ever made against the company. The amount could still be reduced on appeal.
Damages awarded in UK courts are generally lower than those in the US.
Talc is a naturally occurring mineral that can be found near asbestos deposits. Michael Rawlinson KC, who represents the UK claimants, told Sky News that in court documents that “there exist very few, if any, commercially exploited talc deposits in the world which do not contain asbestos.”
He alleged that reports from talc mines, J&J’s own research, and published scientific studies would have made the company aware of potential contamination.
Despite this, Rawlinson claimed that J&J “suppressed information that might indicate that baby powder was contaminated with asbestos,” “lobbied regulators” to allow continued sales, and sponsored studies to “downplay the dangers” to human health.
Johnson & Johnson is a global health care company based in the US. Founded in 1886, it is one of the world’s largest and most well-known producers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer health products.
