Women plan UK legal action over talc cancer claims

Deborah, who did not want to be identified by her real name, also lives in Derbyshire, and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 29, just two weeks after she and her husband had started trying for a baby.

“I used talcum powder for years as a teenager,” she says.

“Literally all I had was some stabbing pain on a Sunday night. I went to the doctor and was sent for an ultrasound on the Tuesday.”

During the scan, a tumour was found on Deborah’s ovary. A few days later she had an operation, at which point doctors told her there was a risk the cancer had spread to her womb.

“Within two weeks of the first symptoms, I’d had a full hysterectomy,” she says.

“I went from excitedly planning for a baby to having all of my parts removed.”

Deborah’s diagnosis was 30 years ago, and she and her husband ultimately went on to adopt.

But she still feels angry that she was robbed of the chance to conceive naturally.

“If [J&J] knew, they shouldn’t have been doing it,” she says.

KP Law, representing the claimants, has begun the process of litigation, which is expected to start at the beginning of 2025.

In the US, the firm has been sued by more than 62,000 people and at least $13bn has been paid out or set aside in response to the action.

Cases there have seen the company found liable for mesothelioma – an asbestos-specific cancer – and gynaecological cancers women suffered after using talc, with billions of dollars awarded in damages.

Tom Longstaff, a partner at KP Law, says: “The case has been litigated repeatedly in the American judicial system but women in the UK deserve an answer, and compensation, here.

“Asbestos cancers tend to have a latency of around 10 to 40 years. So we are walking into a wave of women reaching an age where asbestos cancers develop.”

Mr Longstaff’s firm sent a pre-action letter to J&J in September, a necessary step before starting proceedings. If the case goes ahead, it would likely end up in court next year.

In response, Erik Haas – worldwide vice-president of litigation for Johnson & Johnson, said the allegations against the company “defy logic, rewrite history and ignore the facts”.

“J&J takes the issue of talc safety incredibly seriously and always has,” he says.

“As our documents show, we have relied upon the most state-of-the-art testing protocols for decades and have been entirely transparent with government institutions and academic researchers regarding our findings.”

Mr Haas also said the idea that J&J hid the contaminated contents of its products from the public, government and other groups was “inconceivable and false”.

Litigation like this can take four or five years. Some of the women we spoke to fear they won’t see it concluded.

Linda Jones has stage four cancer.

“I don’t have that long left. I might be dead by the time it’s sorted out,” the 66-year-old, from Devon, says.

“I loved [talcum powder]. After a bath at night, it was a great big warm hug putting on Johnson’s baby powder.

“As soon as my children were born, I used it on them.”

If she does get a settlement, she wants to help other women going through similar situations. She hopes to set up a holiday retreat for women diagnosed with gynaecological cancers.

“I just want to see them compensating everyone without a fight. We already had a fight in the States,” she says.

A J&J spokesperson said: “As the history of the US talc litigation shows, the majority of cases tried resulted in defence verdicts or were overturned in favour of the defence on appeal.

“The UK judicial system is vastly different than in the US, and we believe that if a UK court has an opportunity to review the scientific literature and company documents in proper context, it too will conclude that Johnson’s baby powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”