Document Em8B0X1JQnROE6nB1M2x9o8Lb

FILE NAME: Johnson & Johnson (JAJ) DATE: 1972 June 23 DOC#: JAJ057 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: NYT Article with Cover Letter DOMESTIC OPERATING COMPANY N E W B R U N SW IC K. N. J. June 23, 1972 Dear Fellow Employee: We are w riting to you about an a rtic le which appeared in the June 16 edition o the New York Times alleging asbestos in Baby ItoVder. The a r tic le published fa lse information about JOHNSON'S Baby Powder but was c la rifie d the following day in the Times. We are attaching copies of both a rtic le s for your review. I t i s v ita lly important th a t you know and understand the true fa c ts of the matter fo r your own assurance and to answer factu ally any questions th a t may come up on the subject in conversations with other JOHNSON &JOHNSON employees or customers. I t is v ita lly important for us a l l to understand th a t JOHNSON'S Baby Powder does not contain asbestos. These are the key fa c ts: 1 , Three independent sc ie n tific organizations analyzed JOHNSON'S Baby Powder and found absolutely no asbestos. This data was presented to the Food and Drug Administration by these acknowledged experts in ta lc technology. The data was accepted by the FDA as au th o ritativ e and conclusive. 2, Hie FDA recently conducted i t s own ta lc analysis of numerous talcum powder brands which showed "no detectable traces of asbestos" in JOHNSON'S Baby Powder. 3, Dr. Laager o f Mt. Sanai H ospital, who did the te s ts referred to by the New Fork City Environmental Protection Administration, admitted th a t his analysis was incorrect and said fu rth er th a t the lig h t microscopic technique used is unreliable and "the fib ers th a t they have seen under those conditions were proven to be ta le not asbestos." Also, there has been no change in the ta lc used fo r 'JOHNSON'S Baby Powder or i t s formulation for over eight years. This fact has been made known to Mr. Jerome Kretchmer, the Environmental Protect!cm Administrator, who suggested in the second New York Times1 a rtic le th a t our formulation may have changed since la s t year. This controversy has served to reinforce the fact that JOHNSONS i s an absolutely safe and pure Baby Powder. Our reputation as a company re s ts on the quality of our Baby Products and p a rtic u la rly JOHNSON'S Baby Powder since i t is the oldest and most widely used skin care product in our lin e . Your knowledge and proper use of the fa c ts in th is matter w ill help us to maintain it. EX H IB IT 4 protected Document-Subject to Protective Order JN JN L81 00001621 3 Protected Docum ent-Subject to Protective Order JNJM X68 000004822