Carcinogenic baby powder not only for the ovaries. Johnson & Johnson, maxi compensation to the first man

This time around $ 117 million in total cancer compensation typically associated with asbestos exposure.

Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

Baby powder causes cancer. And not just the ovaries. The new maxi-compensation that Johnson & Johnson will have to pay out - 117 million dollars - will be, for the first time, in favor of a man, for lung cancer. Cancer that is usually associated with exposure to asbestos.

While the other charges and the various millionaire indemnities that in recent years the multinational producer of the most famous talc in the world has been forced to compensate, concerned the causality with tumors and neoplasms of the ovaries in women, this time to be compensated will be the 46-year-old Stephen Lanzo, who in 2016 he sued the company after the diagnosis of the mesothelioma, an aggressive and deadly cancer affecting the lining of the lungs typically linked to a constant proximity to asbestos (talc is in fact a mineral often found near mines in asbestos).

Even if there is still no absolute certainty that talcum powder can be carcinogenic, there are many cases in which the link between pathologies and prolonged use of the famous absorbent powder is more than confirmed.

This time, the multinational Johnson & Johnson and its supplier Imerys Talc will have to fork out $ 80 million (about 65 million euros) in singor Lanzo, New Jersey. It is a type of cancer that affects the lining of some organs which, in this case, would have been caused by the talcum powder that Lanzo would have used for over 30 years. And not only that: the financial investor was in fact also recognized the punitive damages - that assigned to punish unethical or negligent actions - which thus led to the total compensation to 117 million dollars (95 million euros), 70% of which is to be paid by Johnson & Johnson and the remaining 30% by Imerys Talc.

According to Lanzo's lawyers, both companies knew the products on the market were contaminated with asbestos, but they did nothing to warn or eliminate the danger. As CNN reports, both companies have announced they will appeal, claiming they have carried out extensive tests to make sure the products are not contaminated.

Nothing new under the sun, especially since Johnson & Johnson has been at the center of consumer controversy for years, mainly over the use of dioxane and formaldehyde, elements probably carcinogenic for humans, but also for the use of the same talc, a natural mineral composed of magnesium, silicon, oxygen and hydrogen. As early as 2013, American research showed that women who regularly use talcum powder increased their risk of developing ovarian cancer by nearly a quarter.

Research which followed several causes: in 2016 Jackie Fox, son of Marvin Salter, a woman who died of ovarian cancer, fought and won a lawsuit worth about 65 million euros (72 million dollars) against the multinational company; in 2017 also Lois Slemp won a compensation of more than 110 million dollars, again for a tumor linked by the judges to the constant use of Johnson & Johnson powder.

These are not the only cases in which the multinational is accused of the substances contained in its products. In total, it has been forced to pay nearly 200 million dollars after similar complaints and there are, in the US alone, about 2 complaints still to be examined and received by the various courts of justice.

Too many coincidences? Does baby powder cause cancer or not? This is probably a truth that companies will never admit, superimposing appeals upon appeals. Meanwhile, we want to be safe and can count on a lot of natural alternatives.