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$70 Million Awarded to Woman with Ovarian Cancer Due to Baby Powder Usage

Alternative Health

$70 Million Awarded to Woman with Ovarian Cancer Due to Baby Powder Usage

A St. Louis jury on Thursday awarded a California woman more than $70 million in her lawsuit alleging that years of using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused her cancer, the latest case raising concerns about the health ramifications of extended talcum powder use. The jury ruling ended the trial that began Sept. 26 in the case brought by Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. The suit accused Johnson & Johnson of “negligent conduct” in making and marketing its baby powder.

Behind the $55 Million Verdict: Johnson & Johnson Knew About Talcum Powder Cancer Risks Since the 1970s

Like the tobacco companies a generation ago, Johnson & Johnson and its cosmetics lobby have known about the link between its talcum powder and cancer for 40 years, distorted research about the talcum-cancer connection, and lied to the public about the dangers. The big lie was exposed on [recently] when, for the second time in three months, jurors blasted Johnson & Johnson with an 8-figure verdict in a trial charging that the company knew that its talc-based Baby Powder and Show to Shower Powder causes ovarian cancer. For decades, according to the plaintiffs, J&J and its lobby the Talc Interested Party Task Force (TIPTF) distorted scientific papers to prevent talc from being classified as a carcinogen. As a result, J&J is facing now 1,200 lawsuits in Missouri and New Jersey, charging it with fraud, negligence, conspiracy, and failing to warn consumers about the cancer risks.

Drug Company Criminal Settlement: $2.2 Billion for Illegally Marketing Risperdal to Elderly, Children and Mentally Disabled

On the surface, Johnson & Johnson's $2.2 billion settlement this week for illegally marketing drugs to the elderly, children and the mentally disabled looks like a victory. J&J's subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, will plead guilty to illegally promoting the antipsychotic Risperdal for "controlling aggression and anxiety in elderly dementia patients and treating behavioral disturbances in children and in individuals with disabilities," reports Reuters. The promotions included a brazen kickback scheme to Omnicare Inc, a pharmacy supplying nursing homes, exposed by a whistleblower. At least 15,000 elderly people in nursing homes die a year from drugs like Risperdal said FDA drug reviewer David Graham in Congressional testimony a few years ago. Eli Lilly, who makes the similar drug Zyprexa, and AstraZeneca, who makes Seroquel, have also settled charges that they churned the elderly drug market at the price of Grandma and Grandpa's lives. But it is not a victory. J&J made $24.2 billion off Risperdal from 2003 to 2010 and shareholders won't even notice this week's nano loss. J&J milked Risperdal for all it was worth and the patent had already run out by the time it was charged with illegal schemes.