Everyone has used talcum powder in their life since birth. It absorbs sweat and prevents rashes, chaffing by creating a barrier between the skin and the cloth, and that is why it is popular for babies. In tropical areas, talcum powder helps in preventing stickiness due to extreme humidity and many companies use peppermint with it to give a cooling effect to get rid of milia, heat rash that develops in summer. Talcum powder is also included in a lot of makeup products like eye shades, blushes, contour, pressed powder to give it a translucent effect. But, Is talcum powder safe? and how talc mineral was transformed into talcum powder;
Origin of Talc :
Talcum powder came into being in 1894 when Dr Fredric Kilmer of Johnson & Johnson, came up with talc powder to soothe the skin that was irritated due to the use of medicated plasters. People who used talc found it beneficial as a baby powder as well which could prevent rashes. And, that was how the world-famous baby powder with its distinct fragrance started its journey and baby powder became synonymous with Johnson & Johnson.
What is Talcum Powder ?
It is a mineral product that comes from earth crust- the talc mines. Talc present in talc mines consists of clay mineral calcium, magnesium, silicon and oxygen.
Why it is considered bad ? Is talcum powder safe?
Talc mines are found near asbestos mines. And when talc is mined then there is a high probability that some traces of asbestos go inside the talc as well. Asbestos is also a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral like Talc. Asbestos is resistant to heat, electricity and corrosion and that is why it was so much popular in construction. But, in the 1970s scientists found a direct link between asbestos and different types of cancers, for example; Mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer that develops if you inhale asbestos, along with ovarian cancer and lynx cancer. Hence, asbestos is known as a carcinogen.
Johnson & Johnson Scandal
The question Is talcum powder safe arose, when 22 women, who developed ovarian cancer realized that they had been using Johnson & Johnson baby powder, and filed a case against the company. Subsequently, they won with a court awarding them $4.7 billion in compensation in 2018. One of the reasons for the high profile ruling was that it was established by the court that since the 70’s Johnson & Johnson knew about the presence of asbestos in the natural mined talc and some traces in the final baby product. However, they hid the information from the general public and never even published a safety warning. Thus, making women consider it safe as it is meant for babies and is an innocuous product.
The high profile case resulted in the company taking talc powder off the shelf from North American Market and now Johnson & Johnson, is worldwide discontinuing the talc-based powder from 2023 by commercially transitioning to corn starch-based baby powder. It is also to be noted that due to excessive court cases against Johnson and Johnson, they are diverging the baby powder into a separate company and filing for bankruptcy to protect against the potential damages. This has also been negative for Johnson & Johnson, which has a market value of $430 billion, a higher credit rating than the US government.
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Naya Nazimabad Scandal
So taking the opportunity, I would like to state a local scandal in Pakistan and to make people realize how harmful asbestos can be. And how poor countries continue to play with the lives of their own ppl. Naya Nazimabad ( Naya means New) is a housing society scheme in Karachi, Pakistan, which was basically an asbestos dumping site for Dadex Eternit (a local company). Their Chief Engineer contacted mesothelioma and died as a result of asbestos inhalation in 2006, his brother did a case on housing scheme, but as usual, nothing happened. Instead, the shameful thing is that the owners of the housing society are now acquiring more funding for the lethal site to further their criminal activity.
It is also shocking that in Pakistan, Asbestos is also not in Prior Informed Consent (PIC) listing via the Rotterdam Convention and is widely using in construction purpose making pipes, chrysotile cement ( mixture of asbestos & cement), paints, and released in the environment through ship breaking industry. These sites are those where workers are most exposed to the hazardous substance. And, if asbestos is disturbed, for example in breaking or in the case of construction after dumping then it becomes more dangerous.
So, Naya Nazimabad is a breeding ground for mesothelioma. Evidence of hiding the truth that there might be traces of asbestos in Johnson & Johnson, made it fall from grace and a US jury slapped a 4.7 billion dollar penalty. It is more than what Pakistan is getting in tranches from the IMF. So imagine, what the authorities involved in criminal offence would get if there were rule of law in Pakistan.
Is talcum powder safe?
The final talc we use is purified talc, unlike natural talc that contains varying amounts of asbestos. But, it’s better to not use Talc because its not stated that it is asbestos-free Talc by any company. . However, it is difficult to avoid as it is present in not only in Talc powders but in face powder, eyeshadows, blush, contours and other things used in skin care/makeup.
Due to no safety warning, the presence of asbestos in those unlucky bottles caused cancers and although Talc is not directly responsible for ovarian cancer, but asbestos present in it is. And there is no way, even the FDA can know that every bottle is asbestos-free as it is difficult to run a safety check and to sift asbestos from talc like it is difficult to remove salt from flour.
Oncologists claim that if you have to use it sparingly and ;
- Don’t use on open wounds
- Don’t use near face
- Don’t use in intimate/genital areas
- Try using Corn starch based powders
Remember, after exposure to asbestos it takes anywhere from between 10 – 40 years to develop signs of cancer that are non-curable. So, we should be collectively thankful of those brave women, who have fought this long legal battle and made a difference to make us all aware. In the end, I just hope that all makeup products should state * TALC FREE* behind their product, like how they write PARABEN FREE after the dangers of paraben are known.