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Johnson & Johnson shares drop after asbestos report
![J&J shares nosedive on report it knew of asbestos in Baby Powder]()
Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) fell 10 percent on Friday and were on track to post their biggest percentage drop in more than 16 years, after Reuters reported that the pharma major knew for decades that cancer-causing asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder. J&J shares nosedive on report it knew of asbestos in Baby Powder
Shares in Johnson & Johnson plunged more than 10% on Friday, after Reuters reported that the US pharmaceutical giant had known about asbestos tainting its talcum powder for decades.
The report comes as the company faces thousands of lawsuits claiming that its talc products caused cancer.
Reuters' review of documents found the company was aware of trace amounts of asbestos since at least 1971.
J&J lawyers said: "Johnson & Johnson's baby powder is safe and asbestos-free.
"The Reuters article is one-sided, false and inflammatory. Simply put, the Reuters story is an absurd conspiracy theory."
Attorney Peter Bicks told Reuters in an email. "The scientific consensus is that the talc used in talc-based body powders does not cause cancer, regardless of what is in that talc.
"This is true even if - and it does not - Johnson & Johnson's cosmetic talc had ever contained minute, undetectable amounts of asbestos."
