Tanzania bans Johnson & Johnson powder

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) said yesterday that it was banning the importation, distribution and sale of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Baby Powder that contain the talc ingredient.

The statement by TBS comes almost two weeks after the standards body announced that it was investigating the possibility of the presence in the market of baby powder manufactured by the US pharmaceutical giant J&J that contains talc, which is claimed to cause cancer in some countries.

On April 4, J&J announced its intention to stop manufacturing the product using talc in Dar es Salaam.

The Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) announced yesterday that it was banning the importation, distribution, and sale of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Baby Powder products that contain the talc ingredient.

According to TBS, during its investigations, it established that the J&J Baby Powder with the talc ingredient was indeed available in the market.

On April 4, J&J announced its intention to stop manufacturing the product using talc as an ingredient after the company proposed an $8.9 billion (Sh21 trillion) settlement to resolve years-old lawsuits claiming that its talcum powder products caused cancer.

That was after the New Jersey-based company said the proposed settlement, which must also be approved by a bankruptcy court, “will equitably and efficiently resolve all claims arising from cosmetic talc litigation.”

J&J has been facing thousands of lawsuits over talcum powder containing traces of asbestos.