Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson will stop selling talcum baby powder as sales of the once popular product tumble

Amid a rising number of lawsuits, Johnson & Johnson will officially cease production of its talcum baby powder.

Company executives say the decision follows a severe decline in sales right around the world.

The move also follows a number of lawsuits which claim the product causes cancer due to its contamination with asbestos.

Mined from the earth, Talc and lies very close to where carcinogenic asbestos comes from.

J&J says demand has fallen due to so-called ‘misinformation’ about the powder’s safety.

“We stand firmly behind the decades of independent scientific analysis by medical experts around the world that confirms talc-based Johnson’s baby powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer,” it said in a statement.

But an investigation by Reuters back in 2018 discovered the organisation knew for decades that asbestos was present in its talc products.

The global shift away from talcum powder comes more than two years after the healthcare giant ended sales of the product in both the U.S. and the UK.

The company says the powder will now be created from cornstarch.

“As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio,” it said in a statement.