Talcum powder case linked to cancer and inclusion of Asbestos. Johson and Johnson crisis management case. What they did and what could have done.

1. Johnson and Johnson:
Talcum Powder Crisis

2. ● Founded by 3 brothers in 1886: Robert Wood Johnson I, James Wood Johnson and
Edward Mead Johnson
● American Multinational Corporation today
● Headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey
● 250+ subsidiary companies with operations in 60+ countries and products sold in
175+ countries
● Beauty, medical, first-aid and pharmaceuticals
● Well known for the first commercial first aid box, baby powder, no more tears
shampoo and medicines
● Mission and goal

3. J&J introduced baby
powder in 1894 which
was made up of 99.8%
talc and sold in a metal
tin labeled “for toilet
and nursery”

4. Beginning of the J&J Talcum Crisis
● J&J introduced baby powder in 1894-
99.8% talc
● Link between ovarian cancer and talcum
powder surfaced during 1980’s
● Jacqueline Fox used J&J’ s baby powder
since teenage years
● Ovarian cancer at 59; Talcum Powder
● Died of ovarian cancer
● Son, Marvin Salter filed lawsuit
● J&J lost the lawsuit
● Forced to pay $72 million to family in
damages

5. TIMELINE
Spring 2013 October 2015 and February 2016
Fox, diagnosed with
advanced ovarian cancer
Commercial from
Alabama Law Firm
Fox died of Ovarian Cancer
Jury in St. Louis concluded
J&J considered liable
Verdict included compensatory damages and punitive
damages

6. ● Not the first lawsuit because of this
issue
● First in 2009
● Diane Berg from South Dakota
● Settle out of court for $1.3 million
● Drop allegations and sign
confidentiality clause
● Spreading word- main agenda
SAME ISSUE

7. FIRST LAWSUIT
● Darlene Coker, first person to take
legal action
● Mesothelioma of the lungs
● Lawyer, Herschel Hobson to
investigate
● Suspected Baby Powder but could
not do much due to lack of evidence
Lack of evidence, dismissed the case but
information regarding the same surfaced recently,
“That was in 1999. Two decades later, the material
Coker and her lawyer sought is emerging as J&J
has been compelled to share thousands of pages of
company memos, internal reports, and other
confidential documents with lawyers for some of
the 11,700 plaintiffs now claiming that the
company’s talc caused cancers- including
thousands of women with ovarian cancer”
(Giroin)

8. FURTHER ACTIONS
● Recently, lawsuits over asbestos exposure from contaminated talcum baby powder
● Johnson denied claim of any sample containing asbestos
● Tested positive for 3 tests with traces of asbestos
● In July 2019, the U.S. Justice Department launched a criminal investigation
DENYING TALCUM POWDER-CANCER CONNECTION
● Publicly denied
● Documents unsealed in 2017 revealed J&J company executives were aware of asbestos
liabilities
● Company reports highlighted - need to suppress concerns over asbestos contamination -
Vermont and Italy
● J&J staff - switch from talc to corn starch to avoid liability

9. ● As an outcome, in February 2019,
Talcum supplier, J&J Imerys Talc
America, filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection.

10. TIMELINE OF LAWSUITS
2017:
October: Evidence in a class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson showed the company had known its
talcum powder products contained asbestos since the early 1970s. J&J trained employees. The lawsuit was
filed by more than 50 women with ovarian cancer in St. Louis.
2018:
April: A New Jersey jury ordered J&J and Imerys Talc America to pay $80 million in punitive damages to
Stephen Lanzo III. He used the company’s Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products from
1972 to 2003. Lanzo was awarded $37 million in compensatory damages. Punitive damages brought the
total verdict to $117 million. It was J&J’s first loss involving an asbestos talcum powder lawsuit.
May: A California jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $25.7 million to Joanne Anderson, who
developed mesothelioma from using talcum powder. The jury awarded $21.7 million in compensatory
damages and $4 million in punitive damages.
December: Reuters published an investigative report claiming that Johnson & Johnson knew its iconic baby
powder contained asbestos. Tests from independent labs detected asbestos in the product from 1971 to the

11. early 2000s, but J&J covered it up and never reported it to the FDA.
2019:
January: Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sent a letter requesting documentation about past testing of Johnson
& Johnson’s talcum powder for asbestos. The letter was in response to a report released by Reuters News
Service in 2018 that said J&J had covered up tests showing asbestos contamination since the 1970s.
May: A New York Jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $325 million to Donna Olson, who claimed
J&J’s talcum powder caused her to develop mesothelioma. The jury awarded $25 million in compensatory
damages and $300 million in punitive damages.
October: Retailers throughout the U.S. pulled J&J’s talc-based baby powder from shelves after the U.S.
FDA found asbestos in one of the containers.
2020:
May: Johnson & Johnson announced it would end sales of its talc-based baby powder in the U.S. and
Canada, but would continue to sell it internationally. Retailers kept selling stock of the product until it ran
out. J&J will continue to make a cornstarch-based version of its Johnson’s Baby Powder available in the
U.S. and Canada.

12. WHO IS AFFECTED
BY THIS CRISIS?
All
employees
of J&J and
board of
directors
Imerys
Talc
America
Stores who
sell the
product
The media
World Health
Organisation
All regulating bodies:
Supreme Court,
Congress, Courts,
American Cancer
Society, FDA. Etc
Gynaecologists,
family, doctors,
oncologists and others
from the medical field
Other companies
with similar
products
Hospitals,
nurseries that
may have used
baby powder
Shareholders
Customers of
all companies
International
agency for
research on
cancer

13. RESPONSE STRATEGY
● Response to crisis, left a bad taste
● Responses came across as angry and
one-sided
● Appealed the verdict and stood with
the fact that their products are
completely safe
● Immediately doubling down on talc
and promoting safety across their
social media sites
● Tweeted a link to a blog post called
“The facts about talc safety”
STATEMENT BY CAROL GOODRICH, J&J
SPOKESWOMAN
“The recent U.S Verdict goes against decades of
sound science proving the safety of talc as a
cosmetic ingredient in multiple product, and while
we sympathize with the family of the plaintiff, we
strongly disagree with the outcome.”

14. ● The one-sided response shocked
many and did not sit well with
customers (family company)
● More formal apology
● Questioning integrity and honesty of
J&J
● Still dealing with backlash till today

15. Company leaders called all the news reports
"false and inflammatory” and reiterated
denials of the veracity of such claims:
"Decades of scientific studies by medical
experts around the world support the safety
of our product. We will continue to
vigorously defend the product, its safety,
and the unfounded allegations against it and
the Company in the courtroom. All verdicts
against the Company that have been through
the appeals process have been overturned."

16. ● Statement advising public about product in question
● Why there is a lawsuit
● Preventive measures to alleviate public worry
● CEO should release his own statement
● A setup for queries and answering questions should
be put into place against allegations
● Designated communicators for each of the audiences
affected
● Cornstarch powder- promotion, and talcum powder
can be removed from the market.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
DONE

17. THANK YOU