Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest maker of consumer health care products, on Oct. 5 agreed to pay more than $100 million to settle more than 1,000 lawsuits accusing the company’s iconic baby powder and other talc products of causing cancer, according to Bloomberg.
The settlement would cover just a fraction of the 20,000 lawsuits still pending, but it is the first time the company has agreed to settle a large chunk of cases at once rather than offering one-off settlements on the brink of trial.
A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson said the company was not admitting liability and was still standing behind the safety of its products, adding “Our talc is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”
However internal documents revealed that Johnson & Johnson knew decades ago that its talc could contain asbestos. And last year, the company recalled 33,000 bottles of Johnson’s Baby Powder after traces of asbestos were found in the talcum powder.
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