Johnson & Johnson is facing a mass class-action lawsuit in the United Kingdom, as thousands of citizens allege that for decades the company sold talcum powder contaminated with asbestos fibers, while being aware of the associated public health risks.

More than 3,000 people in the UK claim that they or their loved ones developed ovarian cancer or mesothelioma after using Johnson’s Baby Powder between 1965 and 2023.
The law firm KP Law filed the lawsuit in London’s High Court, seeking compensation from Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue UK — the company that spun off from the U.S. pharmaceutical giant in 2023 and now operates independently.

According to the suit, J&J’s product was contaminated for years with carcinogenic fibers, while the company allegedly concealed the health risk from the public for decades. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talc-based products in the U.S. in 2020, replacing them with a cornstarch-based alternative, and extended the same policy globally in 2023.

Kenvue, in an official statement, maintained that “Johnson’s Baby Powder has never contained asbestos and does not cause cancer.”

At the same time, J&J faces tens of thousands of similar lawsuits in the United States. Just last week, an American court ordered the company to pay $966 million in damages to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma — one of the largest rulings ever against the firm. However, the amount may be reduced following an appeal.

One of the plaintiffs, 75-year-old Janet Fustillo, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer seven years ago. She said she had been using the product since the 1960s:

“We always thought talc was pure and beneficial — I used it for myself and for my four children.”

Another claimant, Patricia Angel, stated that her husband, Edward, died of mesothelioma in 2006, only weeks after his diagnosis.

“He used J&J’s baby powder every day after bathing,” she said, adding that “the coroner’s report found asbestos fibers in his body.”