A jury in the Los Angeles High Court sentenced California resident Eva echeverria to the highest compensation lawsuit to date, accusing Johnson & Johnson of failing to adequately warn consumers of the cancer risk of talcum powder products.
A spokesman for Ache Vilija, a lawyer, confirmed the ruling. Johnson said he would appeal.
The decision of the California jury marks the highest amount of compensation in a series of lawsuits, claiming that the company did not adequately warn the cancer risk of talcum powder products.
A spokesman for Johnson & Johnson defended the safety of the product.
The company plans to appeal as in previous cases.
Carol goodrich, a spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Company, said in a statement: "Because we are guided by science, we will appeal today's ruling."
The evidence of any link between the use of talcum powder and cancer is inconclusive.
It is reported that Eva Ache Vilija, a 63-year-old woman, filed a lawsuit in California, claiming that she started using baby powder when she was 1 1. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 10 years ago; According to the lawyer of the case, the diagnosis is incurable.
According to the lawsuit, the company knew the cancer risk associated with talcum powder, but concealed the information from the public.
The verdict includes 70 million dollars in compensatory damages and 347 million dollars in punitive damages.
For many years, I have been worried that the use of talcum powder, especially in the genital area, may increase the risk of ovarian cancer.
But the evidence is not conclusive. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies talcum powder used in genitals as "possibly carcinogenic" because the evidence is mixed.
It is reported that natural mineral talc contains asbestos, which does cause cancer. However, since 1970s, asbestos-free talcum powder has been used in baby powder and other cosmetics. However, the research on asbestos-free talc gives contradictory results.
It is related to the cancer risk in some studies, but some people worry that this study may be biased because it often depends on people's memory of talcum powder used many years ago. Other studies have shown that there is no connection at all, and contraceptives and condoms (near the ovaries) have no connection with cancer.
In addition, talcum powder seems to have no "dose response", which is different from known carcinogens. For example, the more you smoke, the greater the risk of lung cancer.
According to the Ovacome charity, there is no clear evidence. In the worst case, using talcum powder will increase the risk of cancer by one third.
But it added: "Ovarian cancer is a rare disease. Although it increases the risk by one third, the risk is still very low, so even if talcum powder slightly increases the risk, few women who use talcum powder will develop ovarian cancer. "