By
AFP
Published
October 16, 2025
Thousands of UK claimants have filed authorized motion towards US pharmaceutical and cosmetics large Johnson & Johnson alleging individuals recognized with cancers have been uncovered to asbestos in its talcum powder, legal professionals mentioned Thursday.
The firm has confronted a collection of comparable lawsuits in North America, with the most recent UK claim filed within the High Court in London.
The legislation agency representing round 3,000 complainants in Britain mentioned the compensation claim “is estimated to be more than £1 billion” ($1.3 billion).
They allege that both they or a member of the family developed types of ovarian cancer or mesothelioma from utilizing J&J’s Baby Powder.
“The claim, which covers the period from 1965 to 2023, details how Johnson & Johnson knew that their talc products contained carcinogenic fibres, including asbestos, for more than 50 years,” KP Law mentioned.
The firm “chose to keep it on the market in the pursuit of profit,” it added, claiming J&J solely withdrew their mineral talc from Britain in 2023, three years after it was taken off North American cabinets.
A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson referred enquiries to its former shopper well being arm Kenvue, which it separated from in August 2023.
“As a part of that separation, Kenvue retained the responsibility and any purported liability for talc related litigation outside of the United States and Canada,” the spokesperson mentioned.
A Kenvue spokesperson mentioned the security of J&J’s Baby Powder “is backed by years of testing by independent and leading laboratories, universities, and health authorities in the UK and around the world”.
The spokesperson added “the high-quality cosmetic grade talc” used within the powder “was compliant with any required regulatory standards, did not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer”.
US courts in April rejected a J&J supply to pay roughly $8 billion over 25 years to settle round 90,000 civil complaints there associated to ovarian points, with out admitting legal responsibility.
The World Health Organization’s cancer company categorized talc as “probably carcinogenic” for people in July final yr. A abstract of research revealed in 2020 overlaying 250,000 ladies within the US didn’t discover a statistical hyperlink between the usage of talc on the genitals and the danger of ovarian cancer.
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