Johnson & Johnson’s stock fell as much as 11 percent on
Friday — on track for its worst day since 2002 — after a Reuters report
said the company knew for decades that asbestos was in its baby powder.
The company has been grappling with lawsuits alleging some of its
talcum powder products caused cancer. But the Reuters report cites
documents and other evidence that indicate company executives, mine
managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers knew about the problem and
failed to disclose it to regulators or the public.
The plunge in J&J’s shares rippled across Wall Street. J&J is
among the most widely held stocks and it’s also a member of the Dow.
Reuters said it examined documents, including depositions and trial
testimony, that show that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s,
J&J’s raw talc and finished baby powders sometimes tested positive
for small amounts of asbestos, a human carcinogen that can cause cancer.
According to Reuters, the documents also depict successful efforts to
influence US regulators’ plans to limit asbestos in cosmetic talc
products and scientific research on the health effects of talc.
J&J did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN Business.
But Reuters published an emailed statement from J&J Vice
President of Global Media Relations Ernie Knewitz said: “This is all a
calculated attempt to distract from the fact that thousands of
independent tests prove our talc does not contain asbestos or cause
cancer. Any suggestion that Johnson & Johnson knew or hid
information about the safety of talc is false.”
On July 19, 2002, shares of Johnson & Johnson tumbled 16 percent
as federal regulators investigated a former employee’s allegations of
false record keeping at a plant that made an anemia drug linked to
serious side effects.
