Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder was developed in 1893. This led to a new product line for Johnson & Johnson, focused on helping parents care for their babies and young children. It’s been a staple in people’s lives for over a century, and not just for use with children. Many women use it as part of their feminine hygiene routine.

However, a federal jury recently found that the talcum contained in Johnson & Johnson powder products contributed to a woman’s ovarian cancer.

Deane Berg of Sioux Falls, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006, filed the Johnson’s baby powder lawsuit. Berg, now 56, used talcum-based products for hygiene purposes for about 30 years, including J&J’s Shower to Shower body powder. One of Berg’s lawyers, Attorney R. Allen Smith, Jr., of Ridgeland, Miss., said Berg would never have used the products in the manner she did if there had been a warning. “The first time she heard about the risk was after her diagnosis,” Smith said.

In 2009, Smith filed the very first baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuit.

Baby Powder Medical Findings

A recent study conducted by Dr. Margaret A. Gates and funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health, focused on talc ovarian cancer, found a 36 to 41 percent increase in ovarian cancer related to use of talc. The study advised women to immediately stop using the product.

Additionally, the medical journal Cancer Prevention Research published a report in June based on data collected covering about 2,000 women, which found that women who use powder containing talc as part of their feminine hygiene routine may have a 20 percent to 30 percent greater risk of ovarian cancer.

In Berg’s trial, medical expert Dr. Daniel Cramer, who spent 30 years studying the connection between talc and cancer, told jurors “that talc probably was a contributing factor in 10,000 cases of ovarian cancer each year.”

When doctors analyzed Berg’s cancer tissue with a scanning electron microscope, they found talc. They concluded that body powder was the cause.

The jury found that “Johnson & Johnson failed to warn consumers of the link between ovarian cancer and the use of talc-based body powder for feminine hygiene.”

The verdict came soon after the Mississippi attorney general’s office launched an investigation into Johnson & Johnson’s promotion of talcum powder products used for feminine hygiene.