Amid Concerns Over Alleged Links To Cancer, Johnson & Johnson Likely To Be Banned Globally
New Delhi, Feb 8: Amid fears of the product allegedly possessing a cancer risk factor, Healthcare multinational Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is edging towards a global withdrawal of its talcum-based baby powders from sale
Johnson’s Baby Powder was voluntarily removed from store shelves across North America in 2020 after regulators discovered traces of carcinogenic fibres, a form of asbestos, in a sample taken back in 2019. The resulting PR crisis precipitated a slump in sales so severe that J&J felt compelled to withdraw the product from sale the following year, although it remains available in the rest of the world – including the UK.
The company is now facing more than 34,000 lawsuits including many from women who claim they used baby powder and later developed ovarian cancer.
The shareholder vote has been proposed by Tulipshare, a London-based investment platform that allows customers to pool shares in order to meet the threshold to submit resolutions for shareholder votes. The proposal has been submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC) to consider if it is eligible ahead of J&J’s annual meeting, expected in April.
