J&J moves to limit impact of Reuters report on asbestos in Baby Powder
In an update to their bombshell reporting on Johnson & Johnson’s history of asbestos tainted talc, Reuter’s “stands by its reporting” as J&J continues to deal with the fallout of their PR nightmare and plummeting stock.
J&J has taken out full-page ads in major and local newspapers (click here to view the ad) asserting that talc is common, safe and beneficial. “If we had any reasons to believe our talc was unsafe, it would be off our shelves.” J&J CEO, Alex Gorsky, did an interview with the host of “Mad Money” on CNBC in an attempt to assure investors to have faith in their company and categorically deny any causation between talc and asbestos related illness.
The evidence uncovered by trial attorneys and recent investigative journalism, reveals J&J’s pattern of concealing lab results testing positive for asbestos and the inconsistent methodologies applied. In fact, Reuter’s notes that J&J’s website recently removed a study formerly backed by major health organizations because the conclusions have been revised, as J&J struggles to contain the unsound science they have chosen to rely upon.
In the CNBC interview CEO Gorsky wanted to remind viewers that back in the 1980s J&J was recognized for their swift action in removing Tylenol from shelves during safety scares. He added that he couldn’t believe that the same company “would allow a product that they felt in any way could be harmful to stay on the market.” It’s true that when dramatic tragedies unfold from immediate poisonings, companies tend to respond accordingly. When the ill-effects of exposure can develop over decades, such as the nature of asbestos exposure’s latency, companies tend to dawdle and obscure. Facing the science and taking action opens them up to a mountain of financial liability which they challenge with their vast resources.
As the general public starts to grapple with the fact that one of America’s oldest and most trusted companies hid the truth like so many asbestos companies before it, Johnson & Johnson will serve as yet another example of corporations putting profits above public well-being.
