Barbers And Beauticians Are At High Risk For Developing Mesothelioma From Inhaling Talc Dust

A New York City barber with mesothelioma testified that he used Clubman barber shop talcum powder on every haircut customer for decades

Thursday, January 12, 2023 - About 40,000 or so talcum powder lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson that allege using Johnson's Baby Powder with talc caused ovarian cancer is on hold. Ovarian cancer is a deadly disease thought to occur when, after many years of using baby powder on the peritoneal area of a woman's body, particles of talc become permanently trapped and accumulate in the ovaries and cause sufficient irritation and oxidative stress to trigger talcum powder cancer. Ovarian cancer is not the only disease that talcum powder is accused of causing. Thousands of mesothelioma lawsuits may be in the wings, both in the United States and overseas where people think that inhaling talcum powder regularly and for many years could cause this type of deadly lung cancer. Several manufacturers of talc-based powders and cosmetics may be held accountable in a court of law for failing to warn consumers that talcum powder may contain asbestos, a deadly carcinogen. Of all the people that come into contact with talc/asbestos barbers and beauticians may be the most at risk.

Barbers who dust their customers all day and every day may have inhaled talc manufactured by the Clubman brand, the iconic tin of talc that sits in every barbershop. According to Mesothelioma.com, "Johnson & Johnson isn't the only company with products on the market that knowingly contained asbestos and put consumers in danger. Other products like Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder from Colgate-Palmolive and Desert Flower from Whittaker Clark and Daniels have also been targeted for talcum powder lawsuits against them once consumers were diagnosed with mesothelioma decades after using these products." Talc and asbestos are found side by side and sometimes overlapping and interspersed with one another in nature. Mining talc could not possibly be 100% guaranteed to be free from containing asbestos and experts agree that there is no safe level of inhaling asbestos and that only one small particle of inhaled asbestos could eventually lead to mesothelioma. One California woman was awarded $13 million for having used Cashmere Bouquet for roughly the decade of the 1970s and having developed mesothelioma according to mesothelioma.com. Whittaker Clark and Daniels, the manufacturer of Clubman barber shop powder was hit with $25 million in jury awards for failing to warn their talcum powder contained asbestos. One interesting aspect of the trials was that top executives at Clubman never even tested their talc for asbestos, relying instead on the representations of the talc mines who classified the talc they were selling as cosmetics grade and therefore implying its safety. According to mesothelioma.net, Vincent Luca, a New York City barber, testified that he used Clubman barber shop powder to dust every haircut customer's neck and head, from 1961 to his forced retirement in 2016. Mr. Luca died of malignant pleural mesothelioma, a brutally painful disease that causes the delicate outer lung tissue called the alveoli to become hardened over time with scar tissue preventing one from inhaling and exhaling normally. Mr. Luca liked Clubman for the pleasant fragrance the product emitted when dusted into the air. Tins of Clubman talc contained no product warning label that inhaling talc dust was dangerous to one's health.

Information provided by TalcumPowderCancerLawsuit.com, a website devoted to providing news about talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits, as well as medical research and findings.