Facebook offers e-commerce tool, J&J drop talc baby powder, and United introduces ‘CleanPlus’ initiative

Hello, communicators:

Johnson & Johnson is discontinuing its talc-based baby powder in the United States and Canada, following lawsuits alleging that the product contained carcinogens, including asbestos.

In a statement, the company positioned the change as a “portfolio assessment related to COVID-19”:

Demand for talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising.

Johnson & Johnson remains steadfastly confident in the safety of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder. 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.