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The Link Between Talcum Powder and Ovarian Cancer

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What is talcum powder?

Talcum powder is mainly made from talc, a mineral mined from naturally occuring deposits beneath the earth’s surface. For decades, it has been used in baby powder, body powder, makeup products, and other consumer goods. Though talc itself is a safe material derived from magnesium, silicon, and oxygen, it usually comes from the same geological formations as asbestos, a group of fibrous minerals that can naturally form in soil and rock.

How is talcum powder dangerous?

Because asbestos and talc form near each other in the environment, fully avoiding cross-contamination while mining talc is almost impossible, meaning that talcum powder is often tainted with trace amounts of asbestos. This is a problem because asbestos has been proven to be “carcinogenic to humans” by both the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A variety of studies have connected asbestos exposure to lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, ovarian cancer, and mesothelioma.

What makes talcum powder connected to ovarian cancer?

There may be a cultural reason explaining why so many women who regularly used talcum powder ended up being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. 

For decades, Johnson and Johnson told women that they would feel soft, smell clean, and be more sexually appealing by using its talcum powder products. J&J’s ads, which were regularly aired on TV and published in teen magazines, used language like “a sprinkle a day helps keep the odor away” to convince women that their natural scents were unappealing and needed to be covered up. 

Sadly, this type of advertising designed to shame women for their natural bodily odors was very common by the time Johnson and Johnson was around the height of its popularity in the 1970-1980s. Millions of women were taught by cultural stigma that having a feminine odor was a problem that had to be fixed in order to be accepted by society. This shame is likely what led to mothers using talcum powder on their daughters and teaching them to use it themselves. For some families, this ritual of mothers teaching their daughters to use baby powder to conceal vaginal odor was passed down for several generations.

Talcum powder studies on the rise

In the 1960s-1970s, research linking talcum powder to a increased risk of ovarian cancer was also on the rise. In 1960, scientists found that women with asbestosis— a rare lung condition caused by asbestos exposure— had a higher rate of developing ovarian cancer. Then, in 1971, a study published by a team of gynecologists found that 75% of the ovarian tumors they examined were embedded with talc particles. 

Throughout the course of these studies, researchers were able to conclude the method how talcum powder could be related to ovarian cancer. If a woman applied talcum powder into her underwear, then tiny talc particles would be able to travel up her reproductive tract and into her ovaries.

Join the talcum powder lawsuit

If you or a close family member developed ovarian cancer after using talcum powder within the last 10 years, there’s still time to get the justice you deserve.

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See if you qualify for the talcum powder lawsuit.

Referenced Articles

The references used by our writers at FreeLegalReviews.com are deemed to be from credible and reputable sources, including peer-reviewed studies, court records, non-profit organizations, government agencies, highly regarded news media, and legal subject experts. Before making any medical or financial decisions, please seek the opinion of a qualified professional.
  1. American Cancer Society. (2022, December 6). Talcum Powder and Cancer. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/talcum-powder-and-cancer.html
  2. Whitmer, M. (2024, May 29). Types of Asbestos. Retrieved from https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/types/
  1. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity: An Updating of IARC Monographs Volumes 1 to 42. (1987). (Supplement 7, Ser. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK533509/
  2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2016 September). Asbestos. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-10/documents/asbestos.pdf
  3. Kelly, A. (2023, May 19). Talcum Powder: The Feminine ‘Hygiene Extra’ That May Have Fueled a Cancer Crisis. Retrieved from https://www.drugwatch.com/featured/talc-ovarian-cancer-crisis/
  4. Girion, G. (2018, December 14). Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/johnsonandjohnson-cancer/
  5. American Cancer Society. (2023, October 3). Asbestos and Cancer Risk. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/asbestos.html
  6. Jasen, P. (2009, October.) From the “Silent Killer” to the “Whispering Disease”: Ovarian Cancer and the Uses of Metaphor. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2766137/#:~:text=A%201960%20study%20had%20suggested,per%20cent%20contained%20talc%20particles.

About the Talcum Powder Lawsuit

Products at-risk
  • Johnson’s Baby Powder
  • Shower to Shower Body Powder
  • Gold Bond Body Powder
  • Cashmere Bouquet Talcum Powder
  • Other talcum powder products
Who's being sued?

Johnson & Johnson, Gold Bond, Colgate-Palmolive, and other defendants

Which illnesses are eligible ?
Further Reading
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