In 2019, Johnson & Johnson issued a recall of 33,000 bottles of Johnson’s Baby Powder after samples were found to contain asbestos. While J&J denies any liability and insists it did not sell cancer-causing products, it halted the sale of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in North America in May 2020. In 2023, it switched to a cornstarch-based alternative and discontinued worldwide sales of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder.

Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, refiled for bankruptcy in April 2023 as part of ongoing efforts to seek Chapter 11 protection. If successful, the reorganization will allow the company to fund an $8.9 billion bankruptcy trust to settle more than 38,000 current claims and future claims arising from talc lawsuits.

As of Nov. 16, 2023, J&J faced 53,311 pending talcum powder lawsuits in multidistrict litigation in New Jersey. MDL 2738 is before Judge Michael A. Shipp in U.S. District Court.

Chemical hair relaxers have been found to interfere with hormones and contribute to major health problems, including uterine and ovarian cancer. Women across the country have filed lawsuits against the cosmetics companies that manufacture hair relaxers.  Hair relaxer lawsuits are in their early stages in the United States, and thousands of new lawsuits have been filed in courts across the country in 2023. The pretrial and discovery process are still getting started.  Women who used chemical hair relaxers and later developed cancer or another qualifying condition may be entitled to compensation.