We sympathize deeply with people living with cancer. We understand that they and their families want answers—that’s why the facts are so important.
The safety of JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder is backed by years of testing by independent and leading laboratories, universities, and health authorities in the UK and around the world. The high-quality cosmetic grade talc that was used in JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder was compliant with any required regulatory standards, did not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.
We take this matter seriously.
We have worked diligently, extensively, and in complete transparency with regulators and health authorities over the years, and we continue to do so. We have also gone above and beyond industry testing standards to make sure talc-based JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder was safe.
These unfounded claims are not new.
While we were served with a complaint in this litigation on October 15, 2025, claimants’ lawyers in the UK have been threatening these cases in the media for more than a year.
For over a decade, lawsuits in the United States have created unfounded confusion and unnecessary fear about talc, an ingredient that has been used safely in a variety of consumer products and foods like rice and olive oil.
The U.S. legal system is significantly different than that in the U.K.
In the U.K., judges decide issues of liability and causation. There are no juries for these types of cases. The judge will rely on the help of scientific experts. In the U.K., an expert has duties to the court, including a duty of impartiality.
The trials in the U.S. have been jury trials where lay juries review complex medical and scientific evidence and are asked to decide issues of liability and causation. As the history of the U.S. talc litigation shows, the majority of cases tried resulted in defense verdicts or were overturned in favor of the defense on appeal.
Given the judge-led system in the U.K., if a court here has an opportunity to review the decades of scientific data and the Company’s internal documents in context, we believe it too will conclude talc-based JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.
Historically, damage awards in the UK have been lower than damage awards in the U.S. Punitive damages are available in the UK, but UK courts rarely award punitive damages, and only in exceptional circumstances, unlike in the U.S. where they are more common.
Studies of tens of thousands of women and thousands of men show that talc does not cause cancer.
With respect to ovarian cancer claims, in the last 20 years, there have been four large prospective cohort studies which followed more than 200,000 women and found there is no association between perineal talc use and ovarian cancer.
With respect to mesothelioma claims, several cohort studies reported no increased risk of mesothelioma in individuals exposed to large quantities of cosmetic grade talc daily for their entire working careers, including one study which followed people over a 40-year period.
Claimant lawyers have previously been deliberate in cherry-picking documents and details of the claim, and sharing them with the media out of context, without material information, in order to misrepresent their findings.
Based on the information we have received from claimants’ lawyers as of October 16, 2025, (which includes schedules of claimants) we understand there are currently less than 2,000 claimants, not 3,000 or more, as has been reported.
Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This statement contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, litigation related to talc. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Kenvue UK Limited and its affiliates. A list and descriptions of risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Kenvue Inc.’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2024 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings, available at www.kenvue.com or on request. Kenvue UK Limited and its affiliates undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or developments or otherwise.