Johnson & Johnson shares drop on Reuters report that the company knew for decades of asbestos in its baby powder

GeorgePantsMcG · 2018-12-14T17:16:16+00:00

[removed]

5kyl3r · 2018-12-14T17:48:31+00:00

Every time I hear stories like this I think of the opening of Fight Club where the guy goes through how auto manufacturers create a formula to determine how many deaths they can ignore before they no choice but to issue a recall or fix a known dangerous issue.

TooShiftyForYou · 2018-12-14T15:57:57+00:00

Knowingly poisoning people, including children, for decades should lead to immediate prison time and massive fines on par with the tobacco industry.

ttnorac · 2018-12-14T14:47:37+00:00

Oops. How long ago did this practice stop? Did it stop?

ughlump · 2018-12-14T16:45:14+00:00

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Neumann04 · 2018-12-14T14:45:06+00:00

that explains why im on reddit.

RevB1983 · 2018-12-14T15:19:15+00:00

Company knows it's doing bad, doesn't do anything to stop it because they know the fine and backlash won't be as costly as just fixing it. Color me shocked!

nerbovig · 2018-12-14T16:08:25+00:00

On top of that, the Johnsons also own the Jets, so their shame is unending.

ryguy28896 · 2018-12-14T17:23:37+00:00

Son of a bitch. I've been using baby powder to prevent my boys from sticking to my legs, and I've been worried about this shit ever since that woman got cancer a few months ago.

beanzamillion21 · 2018-12-14T17:09:21+00:00

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE SHAREHOLDERS!!!

2018-12-14T22:35:27+00:00

I guess take from this what you will, JNJ's response:

The Reuters article is one-sided, false, and inflammatory. Johnson & Johnson's baby powder is safe and asbestos-free.

Studies of more than 100,000 men and women show that talc does not cause cancer or asbestos-related disease. Thousands of independent tests by regulators and the world's leading labs prove our baby powder has never contained asbestos. Johnson & Johnson will continue to defend the safety of our product.

For the truth and facts about talc, please go to www.factsabouttalc.com.

The Reuters article is wrong in three key areas:

The article ignores that thousands of tests by J&J, regulators, leading independent labs, and academic institutions have repeatedly shown that our talc does not contain asbestos.

The article ignores that J&J has cooperated fully and openly with the U.S.FDA and other global regulators, providing them with all the information they requested over decades. We have also made our cosmetic talc mines and processed talc available to regulators for testing. Regulators have tested both, and they have always found our talc to be asbestos-free.

The article ignores that J&J has always used the most advanced testing methods available to confirm that our cosmetic talc does not contain asbestos. Every method available to test J&J's talc for asbestos has been used by J&J, regulators, or independent experts, and all of these methods have all found that our cosmetic talc is asbestos-free.

harrietthugman · 2018-12-14T16:52:41+00:00

Johnson and Johnson literally poisoned babies for profit.

But corporations are healthy for society and care for the common folk

nclh77 · 2018-12-14T16:43:26+00:00

Good thing they are American, small fine, no jail, rinse and repeat.

DaisyKitty · 2018-12-14T18:13:26+00:00

I remember quite clearly hearing the comedian Dick Gregory speak on my campus in what was either 1974 or 1975, that is to say, more than 40 years ago, and he was saying then that J & J baby powder has asbestos and ground glass in it. He kept emphasising 'the capitalists put ground glass in your baby's powder' and returning to it throughout his talk.

Forty. fuckin'. years. ago.

And on a related note, remember when Trump rolled back regulations re: asbestos? You probably assumed at the time that it was connected to that Russian oligarch who deals in asbestos. But what you probably missed is this: Mike Pence's brother also is in the asbestos business. Stay tuned. And if I have time, I look for the cites on this.

ETA: link to Trump's loosening of regs re asbestos and that decision's link to Russia. excellent article: https://whyy.org/articles/trump-wants-to-make-asbestos-great-again/

Arknell · 2018-12-14T18:26:30+00:00

Well do you want your baby to catch fire?

Throwzas · 2018-12-14T19:14:58+00:00

Maybe it’s CLEAN asbestos. Like that clean coal

NorthEndGuy · 2018-12-14T22:51:01+00:00

I hope people are reading the full article before jumping on the bandwagon. J&J seems to have a very strong and comprehensive defense.

katarh · 2018-12-14T18:07:09+00:00

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WellSpreadMustard · 2018-12-14T17:28:18+00:00

It's time for Johnson & Johnson to be broken up and the pieces sold off. Of course that won't happen though because I'm sure they donate a ton of money to political campaigns so they'll probably get a fine equivalent to an average person turning over their pocket change.

2018-12-14T19:48:15+00:00

Everyone in America put that on their children. Anyone ever seen a mob of angry parents it’s not your typical college protest.

its_a_clump_of_cells · 2018-12-14T15:57:50+00:00

time to start thinking about loading up on J&J stock for the inevitable drop then the climb back up.

TheFondler · 2018-12-14T16:48:49+00:00

Science should not be decided in the courtroom. Where are qualified scientists in this discussion? I want to hear what the actual science says, and not from J&J or an ambulance chaser.

Thegreatgarbo · 2018-12-14T18:45:46+00:00

Only the best asbestos for my baby.

autotldr · 2018-12-14T17:05:23+00:00

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 39%. (I'm a bot)

Reuters reviewed documents and deposition and trial testimony the news outlet said showed from 1971 to the early 2000s, J&J company executives, mine managers, doctors and lawyers were aware J&J's raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos.

J&J referred Reuters to its outside litigation counsel, who in emailed responses, rejected Reuters' findings as "False and misleading." "The scientific consensus is that the talc used in talc-based body powders does not cause cancer, regardless of what is in that talc," Bicks wrote.

"This is true even if - and it does not - Johnson & Johnson's cosmetic talc had ever contained minute, undetectable amounts of asbestos." He dismissed the tests cited in Reuter's article as "Outlier" results, Reuters said.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: Reuters^#1 talc^#2 J&J^#3 asbestos^#4 powder^#5

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