Johnson & Johnson: Justice for British Victims? Conundrum for Russian Consumers?
The news that the first UK toxic talc litigation by cancer sufferers was in the pipeline had been circulating for a couple of years. On October 16, 2025 this was confirmed when a class action began at the High Court in London on behalf of 3,000 plaintiffs who believed their diseases were caused by the use of contaminated baby powder produced by the American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J). This was headline news and was widely covered by online portals as well as traditional media outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky and Reuters.1 It was also on the 6 p.m. BBC 1 news broadcast – I know because, I saw it!
The focus of this lawsuit was J&J’s negligent behavior in allowing sales of its iconic core product – talc-based baby powder – to continue despite knowing it contained carcinogenic asbestos fibers. Documents supporting these allegations have been rigorously tested in US lawsuits with astounding victories in some jurisdictions and disappointing results in others. In July, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the company of verdicts by the Missouri Court of Appeals (2020) and a St. Louis jury (2018) which had found that J&J’s baby powder was a killer. As a result, the ruling handed down by the Missouri Court of Appeals which had awarded $2.12 billion to twenty claimants was upheld.2 Earlier this month, a Los Angeles jury ordered that $966 million be paid to the family of a mesothelioma victim who had contracted cancer as a result of her use of J&J’s baby powder; the bulk of the compensation ($950m) was for punitive damages.3
It is noteworthy that in 2020 when J&J first withdrew this product from retail markets, the restriction only applied to the US and Canada. The callousness of J&J’s corporate marketing policy did not go unnoticed with one health and safety activist from India commenting:
“Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder is sold in India and is very popular. In fact, it has a dominant share in India’s very lucrative market for baby products. It is very shameful that the company has decided to continue sales in India as if Indian lives don’t matter. This is yet one more example of corporations putting profit before the lives of people. Instead of replacing the toxic baby powder with one free of asbestos in India, as they are doing in North America, they are just pushing sales of this hazardous product in a market with weak regulatory mechanisms, few testing guidelines and low consumer awareness. Failure of manufacturers to warn potential users of hazards posed by use of their product is a crime but I cannot imagine Johnson & Johnson putting labels on the cannisters of baby powder stating that this product is no longer sold in US and Canada because of health concerns.”4
It was another three years before J&J withdrew its deadly baby powder from other markets.5 As a consequence, consumers in scores of countries outside North America were given even extra time to contract cancer.6
 Picture taken at São Paulo Drugstore (Drogaria São Paulo) July 14, 2023. Picture courtesy of the Brazilian Association of the Asbestos-Exposed (ABREA). |
 Picture taken at Savers discount drugstore in Northwest London on July 16, 2023. On the back of the container, the ingredients were listed as: Talc, Parfum. Picture from IBAS Archives. |
As mentioned previously, the news of the 2025 UK class action spread like wildfire with articles appearing in Australia, Bangladesh, Greece, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Turkey, Ukraine, United States and Vietnam, as well as in the UK. Having monitored foreign language news portals over recent days, it seems that the Russian media was the one most interested in this case with multiple articles uploaded on October 16 & 17, 2025:
- На Johnson & Johnson подали в суд из-за детской присыпки, вызывающей рак [Johnson & Johnson Sued Over Baby Powder that Causes Cancer]; 7
- BBC: 3 тыс. британцев судятся с Johnson & Johnson из-за асбеста в присыпке [BBC: 3,000 Britons are suing Johnson & Johnson over asbestos in baby powder];8
- 3000 британцев обвиняют Johnson & Johnson в продаже присыпки, вызывающей рак [3,000 Britons accuse Johnson & Johnson of selling cancer-causing powder];9
- Тысячи британцев обратились в суд из-за канцерогенной детской присыпки [Thousands of Britons have gone to court over carcinogenic baby powder]; 10
- В Британии подан коллективный иск на миллиард долларов из-за детской присыпки [A billion-dollar class action lawsuit has been filed in Britain over baby powder];11
- На Johnson & Johnson подали в суд 3000 человек из-за детской присыпки. В ней якобы содержался опасный ингредиент. [Johnson & Johnson sued by 3,000 people over baby powder. It allegedly contained a dangerous ingredient];12
- Тысячи британцев обратились в суд из-за канцерогенной детской присыпки [Thousands of Britons have gone to court over carcinogenic baby powder].13
The irony is that in Russia, the world’s biggest asbestos producer, there is a de facto ban on comments that cast aspersion on asbestos, a much prized and highly praised natural resource which is, industry stakeholders say, “harmless to human health.”14 Perhaps there exists some type of Russian alchemy whereby deadly asbestos fibers such as those in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder can be neutralized and made safe for use in Russian building and insulation products? If there is, I haven’t heard about it! Have you?
October 22, 2025
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1 Hayward, C. Thousands in UK sue Johnson & Johnson over talcum powder cancer risks. October 16, 2025.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c797wv928g8o
Kollewe, J. Thousands in UK take legal action against Johnson & Johnson over alleged talc cancer link. October 16, 2025.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/16/thousands-in-uk-open-case-against-johnson-johnson-over-alleged-talcum-powder-cancer-link
Thousands sue Johnson & Johnson in UK over cancer claims. October 16, 2025.
https://news.sky.com/story/thousands-sue-johnson-and-johnson-in-uk-over-cancer-claims-13450938
Reuters. J&J faces first UK lawsuits alleging its baby powder caused cancer. October 16, 2025.
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/jj-faces-first-uk-lawsuits-alleging-its-baby-powder-caused-cancer-2025-10-15/
2 Kazan-Allen, L. Victory for U.S. Ovarian Cancer Victims. June 3, 2021.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka-victory-for-us-ovarian-cancer-victims.php
3 Jones, D.N. Johnson & Johnson told to pay nearly $1bn in landmark talc lawsuit. October 8, 2025.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/johnson-johnson-talc-baby-powder-lawsuit-cancer-b2841751.html
4 Ibid.
5 Kazan-Allen, L. Johnson and Johnson U-Turn – Finally! August 15, 2022.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka-johnson-and-johnson-u-turn-finally.php
6 Kazan-Allen, L. From Consumer Icon to Grim Reaper: The Sorry Tale of J&J Baby Powder. July 17, 2023.
http://ibasecretariat.org/lka-blogzxa210.php
7 Palkina, E. На Johnson & Johnson подали в суд из-за детской присыпки, вызывающей рак [Johnson & Johnson Sued Over Baby Powder that Causes Cancer]. October 16, 2025.
https://snob.ru/news/na-johnson-johnson-podali-v-sud-iz-za-detskoi-prisypki-vyzyvaiushchei-rak/
8 Khvostik, E. BBC: 3 тыс. британцев судятся с Johnson & Johnson из-за асбеста в присыпке [BBC: 3,000 Britons are suing Johnson & Johnson over asbestos in baby powder]. October 16, 2025,
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/8121713
9 Leiko, V. 3000 британцев обвиняют Johnson & Johnson в продаже присыпки, вызывающей рак
[3,000 Britons accuse Johnson & Johnson of selling cancer-causing powder]. October 16, 2025.
https://news.mail.ru/society/68333726/
10 Тысячи британцев обратились в суд из-за канцерогенной детской присыпки [Thousands of Britons have gone to court over carcinogenic baby powder]. October 16, 2025.
https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/68f0da959a79473da0219f2b
11 Makarychev, M. В Британии подан коллективный иск на миллиард долларов из-за детской присыпки [A billion-dollar class action lawsuit has been filed in Britain over baby powder]. October 16, 2025.
https://rg.ru/2025/10/16/v-britanii-podan-kollektivnyj-isk-na-milliard-dollarov-iz-za-detskoj-prisypki.html
12 Gromova, E. На Johnson & Johnson подали в суд 3000 человек из-за детской присыпки. В ней якобы содержался опасный ингредиент [Johnson & Johnson sued by 3,000 people over baby powder. It allegedly contained a dangerous ingredient]. October 17, 2025.
https://www.rbc.ru/life/news/68f1f5889a79472a4beef7f6
13 Тысячи британцев обратились в суд из-за канцерогенной детской присыпки [Thousands of Britons have gone to court over carcinogenic baby powder]. October 16, 2025.
https://www.forbes.ru/healthcare/548019-tysaci-britancev-obratilis-v-sud-iz-za-kancerogennoj-detskoj-prisypki
14 Kazan-Allen, L. Russia’s Autumn Asbestos Offensive. September 9, 2021.
https://www.ibasecretariat.org/lka-russia-s-autumn-offensive.php
