Johnson & Johnson asked to pay $72 million in talcum powder-cancer case

Zee Media Bureau

Missouri, US: World's largest healthcare firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) was ordered by a Missouri state jury to pay $72 million of damages to the family of a woman whose death has been linked to the company's talcum powder.

Jackie Fox, aged 62, died of ovarian cancer in 2015, two years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Family said Fox used used J&J's baby talcum powder for more than 50 years before being diagnosed three years ago with the illness, and claimed her death was caused by the use of the company's products.

In a verdict announced late Monday night, jurors in the circuit court of St. Louis awarded the family of Fox $72 million of damages, say lawyers for the family.

The lawyers said the verdict is the first by a US jury to award damages over the talc claims. It is said that more than 1,000 similar cases are pending nationwide and thousands more could now be filled.

J&J, however, denied the claim and said that its products are safe.

Meanwhile, researchers are divided over the potential risks of talc. While the American Cancer Society says it is not clear if talc products increase cancer risk, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classifies talc as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."