Banning asbestos in talcum powder: Time for action in India

Our plain-English summary of Banning asbestos in talcum powder: Time for action in India, by S. Singh, S. Roy Pradhan, A. Yadav, et al (Dialogues in Health, 2023).

The study

• Authors: S. Singh, S. Roy Pradhan, A. Yadav, P.K. Singh
• Journal: Dialogues in Health
• Published: 2023;3:100158
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Long-term use of asbestos-contaminated talcum power has been reported to be the main causative agent for carcinogenesis in many research studies. In recent developments Johnson & Johnson has lost multimillion-dollar lawsuits for being associated with the development of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer by its talc-based baby powder. In May 2020, the company announced, the end of the sale of its baby powder in the USA and Canada and in August 2022, announced the global discontinuation by 2023. However, in India vast proportions of people are using talc-based baby powder and the products are readily available in the market. The purpose of this communication is to create awareness and draw attention of authorities for effective regulation, including prohibition of sale and retraction of the contaminated talc-based products from the Indian market at the earliest.

© 2023 The Authors.

In plain English

This article is a commentary (the authors call it a "communication"), not a study, and reports no new data. The authors searched the literature and wrote about talc-based baby powder in India. Their stated purpose was to raise awareness and draw authorities' attention to effective regulation, including stopping the sale of contaminated talc-based products and withdrawing them from the Indian market. The authors wrote that many research studies have reported long-term use of asbestos-contaminated talcum powder to be the main cause of cancer development. They also wrote that very large numbers of people in India use talc-based baby powder, which remains readily available. The authors concluded that India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and state drug regulators should act promptly to remove contaminated products from Indian markets. They called on government ministries to prohibit online sale, advertising and distribution of these products. They said the Indian Medical Association and related bodies should mandate that doctors not prescribe, recommend or endorse talc-based powders, and suggest alternatives such as corn starch. They also called for more research on talc-based products and cancer risk in Indian and Southeast Asian populations.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Commentary (a "communication") based on a literature search of published studies, regulatory documents and news reports; no original data were collected or analysed
• Who was studied: No study population. The article concerns people in India who use talc-based baby powder and the availability of these products in the Indian market
• Exposure: Asbestos-contaminated talcum powder, in particular talc-based baby powder sold in India
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and state drug regulatory bodies should act promptly to retract contaminated products from Indian markets. They also recommended three further steps. Ministries should prohibit online sale, advertising and distribution of these products. The Indian Medical Association and related professional bodies should mandate that doctors not prescribe, recommend or endorse talc-based powders, and that they suggest alternatives such as corn starch or arrowroot starch. More research should address talc-based products and cancer risks in Indian and Southeast Asian populations.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Carcinogenesis, Mesothelioma, Ovarian Cancer, Talc.

Related studies

• Consumer talcums and powders: mineral and chemical characterization — A.N. Rohl, A.M. Langer, et al. (1976)
• Potential Airborne Asbestos Exposure and Risk Associated with the Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder Products — A.M. Burns, C.A. Barlow, et al. (2019)
• Pulmonary disease caused by the inhalation of cosmetic talcum powder — I.P. Wells, P.A. Dubbins, et al. (1979)
• Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of mesothelioma in women — R. Lee, D. Van Orden (2015)
• Pulmonary talcosis in the setting of cosmetic talcum powder use — A. Cho, R. Amirahmadi, et al. (2021)
• Johnson & Johnson knew for decades talcum powder contained asbestos, reports allege — O. Dyer (2018)

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