A New Jersey jury cleared pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson in March of liability following a lawsuit by a man who alleged asbestos in the company's talc-based products caused his mesothelioma. But Reuters reported Tuesday that the company continued to aggressively market its talc-based products for years, even after the World Health Organization classified such products as "possibly carcinogenic."
Reuters reports Johnson and Johnson ignored warning labels on its shipments from talc supplier Luzenac America Inc and launched a campaign that specifically targeted African-American and overweight women. An internal Johnson and Johnson 2006 marketing presentation reportedly said the "right" places to focus the campaign were "under developed geographical areas with hot weather and higher AA population," with the AA referring to African-American. Johnson and Johnson reportedly proceeded to distribute baby powder, which is a talc-based product, through churches and beauty salons in African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods. It also reportedly ran print and digital advertisements with Weight Watchers.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Jack Draper: can Britain's Wimbledon hopeful unseat Carlos Alcaraz?In the Spotlight 'Volcano of emotion' smashes his racket during defeat in Queen's semi-final but world No.4 shows 'fighting spirit'
-
Crossword: June 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
How far would Russia go for Iran?Today's Big Question US air strikes represent an 'embarrassment, provocation and opportunity' all rolled into one for Vladimir Putin
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
