Published on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 by Staff
Talc is a naturally-formed soft mineral that is mined around the world. Its main components are silicon, magnesium and oxygen and it is considered the softest mineral. Talc is known for its ability to absorb moisture including both water-based and oil-based human moisture and perspiration. When it is crushed, it is transformed to a powder. “Talcum” powder and other consumer products contain talc – these include the talc-containing Johnson’s® Baby Powder and Shower to Shower® Body Powder.
In 1971, British scientists conducted tissue examinations of 13 cancerous ovarian tumors and found that 10 of them contained imbedded talc granules. 11 years later, Dr. Daniel Cramer of Boston’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital published a study that suggested there was an association between the application of talc-containing powders to women’s genital areas and an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. An article about Dr. Cramer’s study appeared in the August 12, 1982 edition of The New York Times. The study examined the health history and genital talc use of 215 women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer and compared them to women who did not use talc. The results indicated an association between the genital use of talc and ovarian cancer. Over the ensuing years, no fewer than 15 studies have demonstrated that long-term, frequent genital application of talc-containing powder by women posed a 33% increase in the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Though some studies have suggested no link between talc and ovarian cancer, those studies have been criticized for not taking into account both duration and frequency of talc use which is the only true measure of a woman’s exposure to talc.
In 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an affiliate of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the use of cosmetic-talc in the genital area could possibly pose a cancer risk. Sometime after the IARC announcement, the main supplier of raw talc to companies like Johnson & Johnson, placed a warning on the bulk bags of talc that were shipped to manufacturers. Nonetheless and despite this newly-added warning to the raw talc, the finished best selling talc-containing powders like Johnson’s® Baby Powder and Shower to Shower® Body Powder contain no such warning to consumers.