INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson over allegations that the company violated Indiana's Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.
According to the lawsuit, filed by Rokita’s office on Tuesday in Marion County, the office alleged that Johnson & Johnson "has engaged in unfair or deceptive acts and practices in connection with consumer transactions" related to its Talc Powder products, including "Baby Powder" and "Shower to Shower".
These products were marketed toward teenage girls and women for daily use on their bodies to maintain a "fresh, dry and clean" feeling to remove friction on the skin and absorb excessive moisture.
The suit accused the drug manufacturing company of failing to disclose to potential clients that carcinogenic asbestos was reportedly detected in some of its Talc Powder products.
"Women who used talc-based powders in the genital area had an increased risk of ovarian cancer compared to those women who do not," the lawsuit said. "Despite this knowledge, J&J continued marketing of Talc Powder Products as safe, pure, and gentle, and as suitable for use in and on female genitals."
The complaint went on to claim that Johnson & Johnson had been aware since at least the 1950s that some of its Talc Powder products possibly contained harmful asbestos. The company initially discovered this when learning that its chief source mine for talc in the United States contained tremolite, which is described as one of six separate minerals that "take the form of crystalline fibers known as asbestos," according to the complaint.
Johnson & Johnson allegedly continued searching for talc deposits in the U.S. market that contained no tremolite but found no "clean" deposits.
"As early as 1969, J&J expressed internal concern in a memo that the tremolite fibers in its talc posed a safety risk, and that J&J would not be able to assure that its powders were safe to use if tremolite in more than 'unavoidable trace amounts' were present," the lawsuit said.
At one point during the 1970s, the lawsuit asserted that Johnson & Johnson met with the FDA and provided “evidence that their talc contains less than 1%, if any, asbestos.”
Johnson & Johnson's own scientists reportedly conducted studies that demonstrated the company's talc powder contained asbestos fibers, with a research director warning that Johnson & Johnson should prioritize removing the largest number of tiny fibers in its talc dust that pose a risk of being inhaled.
However, the lawsuit said the director conceded that “no final product will ever be made which will be totally free from respirable particles.”
The lawsuit also cited a company memo from 1973 that allegedly claimed that its Talc Powder contained "identifiable" amounts of tremolite and actinolite, two types of asbestos fibers.
Rokita's office accused Johnson & Johnson of failing to disclose any of the potential risks associated with its Talc Powder due to a fear of rising costs and negative public reaction.
Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association, a lobbying organization Johnson & Johnson was part of, reportedly refuted the claims at the time, stating, “There is no basis to Petitioner's request that cosmetic talc products should bear warning labels to the effect that talcum
powder causes cancer in laboratory animals or the ‘frequent talc application in the female genital
area increases the risk of ovarian cancer.'”
A study that was published out of Harvard University in 1982 contradicted the claims made by various studies sponsored by Johnson & Johnson which claimed that talc powder was completely safe for use, according to the lawsuit.
The Harvard study found that women who used talc saw an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer rise to 92% and advised that Johnson & Johnson display a warning on its talc products. The company did not add any warnings to the products.
The lawsuit also referenced multiple other independent studies which corroborated the Harvard study.
Despite the dangers of using talc powder being well documented by this point, the lawsuit alleged that Johnson & Johnson continued to market its Talc Powder products as being completely safe.
"Despite knowing for over 30 years of studies linking the use of Talc Products in the genital area with increased risk of ovarian cancer, J&J continued to refuse to include any warning or information in its marketing of the Talc Products," the lawsuit said. "Instead, J&J continued to market the products as safe for daily use on all areas of the body."
It wasn't until 2019 that Johnson & Johnson issued a public recall of its Baby Powder after the United States Food and Drug Administration found asbestos in a bottle. It took the company another year before it completely stopped all manufacturing, sale and distribution of the talc-based baby powder in May of 2020.
Johnson & Johnson shared the following statement with FOX59/CBS4 Tuesday:
“Consistent with the plan we outlined last year, the Company continues to pursue several paths to achieve a comprehensive and final resolution of the talc litigation. That progress includes the finalization of a previously announced agreement that the Company reached with a consortium of 43 State Attorneys Generals to resolve their talc claims. We will continue to address the claims of those who do not want to participate in our contemplated consensual bankruptcy resolution through litigation or settlement.”
Erik Haas, Worldwide Vice President of Litigation, Johnson & Johnson
Last month, Johnson & Johnson confirmed that it was moving forward with plans to conclude tens of thousands of nationwide lawsuits with a proposed $6.48 billion settlement.