Research is clear that repeated use of talc powder such as that found in baby powder or shower to shower can cause ovarian cancer.

1. Talcum Powder Cancer
www.pressreleasecircle.com/talcum-powder-cancer
Submitted by admin on Fri, 05/27/2016 - 19:13.
Talc Interested Party Task Force (TIPTF) created by Johnson & Johnson to influence the talc powder regulation.
May 27, 2016 (North Little Rock, Arkansas) In 1992, Johnson & Johnson, proud
purveyor of talcum-based baby powder, was fighting a losing public relations
battle. Baby powder had been a company staple since 1893, but studies were
beginning to show with alarming regularity that there was a positive connection
between talc and ovarian cancer. Dr. Daniel Cramer first demonstrated in 1982
that frequent and lengthy talc use increased the risk of ovarian cancer by as much
as 33%. A flurry of studies from scientists all over the world followed, and in 1992,
the National Toxicology Program (NTP) found “clear evidence of carcinogenicity
activity in female rats” exposed to talc inhalation.
(https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/lt_rpts/tr421.pdf)
In response, Johnson & Johnson and its allies created the Talc Interested Party
Task Force (TIPTF). Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier Luzenac operated
and paid for the task force. Although its public purpose was to pool resources so
that its members could more easily combat government regulation of talc, its
actual purposes were even more sinister. As government pressure began to
mount, the TIPTF sought to prevent or delay talc’s classification as a carcinogenic
by any means necessary. One suggestion, according to a Luzenac internal memo written in 1998 after a strategy
meeting at the University of California at Irvine, was to produce a scientific study of its own using “two or three
experts from the club. HAC will give us names.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-baby-powder-cancer-
lawsuits/img/l...) Hoda Anton-Culver is the Epidemiology Chair at UC Irvine, and the plaintiffs in the recent case
against Johnson & Johnson have argued that “from the club” refers to scientists who would respond to pressure from
the TIPTF and manipulate their studies accordingly.
The pressure to fight back against regulation intensified as the world began to take studies like Cramer’s seriously.
In 2006 the International Association for the Research of Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization,
published a paper classifying the use of talc on genitalia as a Group 2B carcinogen. That same year, the Canadian
government classified talc as a “poisonous and infectious material” and a “very toxic” substance.
(http://ccinfoweb2.ccohs.ca/whmis/records/756E.html) In the United States, the National Toxicology Program voted
13-2 to list talc as a possible human carcinogen. In spite of the overwhelming vote, the TIPTF convinced the
government to defer making an official decision on talc. According to a Bloomberg.com article, the TIPTF used
confusion about the differences between the asbestos-containing talc used in the 1970s and the asbestos-free talc
used in the twenty-first century to confound the NPT. In a letter to a colleague, a Luzenac executive referred to the
victory as “dodging a bullet,” credited the asbestos confusion with staying the government’s hand, and suggested
the TIPTF “come up with more confusion” to stifle further progress. http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-baby-
powder-cancer-lawsuits/
By the end of 2006, Luzenac was out of the denial business. Acknowledging that “the horse had already left the
barn,” Luzenac no longer financed studies commissioned to prove to the public that talc was safe.
(http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-baby-powder-cancer-lawsuits/) Now known as Imerys Talc, the company
provides warning labels on its talc shipments that perineal use may lead to an increased risk of ovarian cancer.
Accordingly, Imerys Talc was not held liable for damages when Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay out $127
million to two plaintiffs just three weeks apart. Nevertheless, as a key member of the TIPTF they played an
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2. important and nefarious role in protecting the use of talc powder all over the world. Ostensibly created to pool
resources, the TIPTF quickly became an influential lobby which used company-friendly scientific research and mass
confusion to delay government intervention until, for many women, it was too late.
Contact Information:
Lisa Douglas
Law Offices of Lisa Douglas
2300 Main
North Little Rock, AR 72114
Toll Free: 888-THE LAWYER
(501) 798-0004
Lisa@LisaGDouglas.com
http://www.LisaGDouglas.com
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