ZIMBABWE has banned the sale and distribution of Johnson and Johnson baby powder and ordered the destruction of the product following findings it caused cancer.
In a statement, Health and Child Care Ministry Permanent Secretary Air Commodore Jasper Chimedza ordered the products to be destroyed.
“Ministry of Health and Child Care is banning the importation and distribution and sale of Johnson and Johnson’s baby powder containing the talc ingredient with immediate effect. Environmental Health Officers and Technicians are advised to remove all Johnson and Johnson’s baby powder containing the talc ingredient from the market. Inspectors are advised to document their findings and We products must be destroyed or recalled to the manufacturers,” he said.
With Zimbabwe close to South Africa which is its major trading partner, the Health Ministry says South Africans may not be aware of the baby powder’s potential risk.
“The product is still popular in South Africa amid indications that most consumers are unaware of its potential risks. Given the significant importation of health products by Zimbabwe from South Africa, there is a high risk that the contaminated baby powder could still be finding its way into the Zimbabwean market,” Dr Chimedza said.
This decision was arrived at when America raised the red-flag after Johnson-Johnson was found to contain carcinogen asbestos.
“On 18 April 2023, an American television channel, Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) reported that Johnson and Johnson, an American multinational corporation, had assumed the liability to pay eight point nine billion United States Dollars (U5$8.9 billion) to the medical industry in compensation over allegations that the company’s baby powder was causing cancer. Research by the American Academy of Paediatrics unearthed that the talc used in the production of the baby powder was highly toxic due to contamination with carcinogen asbestos,” he said.
The Health Permanent Secretary said Tanzania also banned the product.
“Tanzania Bureau of Standards on the 19. of April 2023, banned the importation and distribution and sale of Johnson and Johnson’s baby powder containing the talc ingredient,” he said.
Johnson and Johnson reportedly ended global sale of the product last month.
