Double posting. It was just on HN yesterday.
I missed it yesterday and didn't search for it before submitting so that's my bad.
But if it's getting upvotes, I guess it's because other people missed it as well.
Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
11–20 of 94 posts
Re: Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
#12Makes these stories more relevant. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/business/johnson-talc-can... Almost as if the “free market” doesn’t regulate itself and generate ethical results...
What free market?
Re: Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
#13When companies like Marriott and JJ are doing things like this, people incur great losses and there is little to no repurcussion to the companies. Meanwhile, some guy in the street will go to prison for selling some weed. All those who did this at JJ honestly deserves a life sentence at a minimum given abestos exposure leads to mesothelioma. This is some diabolical stuff - something out of a movie, akin to for exampl…
It's not like one person is to blame who maliciously put asbestos with the intent to hurt people. Rather is was just ignorance about the dangers, general incompetence, and possibly some greed. No one person to blame.
Re: Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
#14We shouldn't be surprised that this sort of thing happens from time to time.
What are the incentives?
If you're an exec in charge of some product, you want to sell the product. You don't want to be pulling it, you'll never get promoted like that. And you know more about how to move product than about asbestos testing results, that's for sure.
And chances are nothing will be discovered. And if it is discovered it will take a long time and you'll be long gone. And if it turns out to be really bad, you don't personally pay. The company pays.
Not saying I have an answer. I'm sure there's quite a few people within a company that would know about the findings, and they all have reasons to either keep things going, or you could call it a psychological bias towards diminishing the severity in their own minds.
Re: Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
#15If people started tossing J&J baby powder at J&J executives would that be assault with a deadly weapon?
Re: Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
#16Sons of bitches.
(I realize this doesn't contribute a lot, and I think it needed to be said anyway.)
Re: Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
#17Makes these stories more relevant. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/business/johnson-talc-can... Almost as if the “free market” doesn’t regulate itself and generate ethical results...
You realize that the FDA (regulator) was award of these results and still didn’t pull it off the market?
Oh damn I hadn’t seen that the FDA knew about it as well. That brings this to a whole new level of fucked up.
Re: Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
#18When companies like Marriott and JJ are doing things like this, people incur great losses and there is little to no repurcussion to the companies. Meanwhile, some guy in the street will go to prison for selling some weed. All those who did this at JJ honestly deserves a life sentence at a minimum given abestos exposure leads to mesothelioma. This is some diabolical stuff - something out of a movie, akin to for exampl…
It's not like one person is to blame who maliciously put asbestos with the intent to hurt people. Rather is was just ignorance about the dangers, general incompetence, and possibly some greed. No one person to blame.
I disagree. During this time period was when case hunters were pretty serious about asbestos. You could not watch tv for a second without seeing an “asbestos exposure? We can help!” commercial. Meanwhile, google ads HIGHEST keywords throughout this period was relating to asbestos and mesothelioma exposure.
It was a big thing and well known.
Lastly, a company like JJ not only has a responsibility and cannot feign ignorance, but also in their own words have lots of scientists and PHDS.
So since they cannot feign ignorance, you can blame them. Anyone who chooses their own well being over millions of BABIES needs to suffer great consequences.
Re: Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
#19When companies like Marriott and JJ are doing things like this, people incur great losses and there is little to no repurcussion to the companies. Meanwhile, some guy in the street will go to prison for selling some weed. All those who did this at JJ honestly deserves a life sentence at a minimum given abestos exposure leads to mesothelioma. This is some diabolical stuff - something out of a movie, akin to for exampl…
It's not like one person is to blame who maliciously put asbestos with the intent to hurt people. Rather is was just ignorance about the dangers, general incompetence, and possibly some greed. No one person to blame.
You can blame ppl for being greedy. The executives for employing ignorant ppl. Lots of blame to go around.
Re: Johnson and Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
#20When companies like Marriott and JJ are doing things like this, people incur great losses and there is little to no repurcussion to the companies. Meanwhile, some guy in the street will go to prison for selling some weed. All those who did this at JJ honestly deserves a life sentence at a minimum given abestos exposure leads to mesothelioma. This is some diabolical stuff - something out of a movie, akin to for exampl…
Big corps who can do anything to capture market share and have some sort leverage over the Government cannot be trusted. I guess people just forget about all ethics when huge debt / investment / incentive is involved. Leverage over media and governments along with an army of lawyers and bean counters just makes this whole thing possible. Meanwhile globalisation has arguably made it more difficult for SMEs to market /…
Any government that is susceptible to leverage outside of the POWER OF THE PEOPLE needs to go to jail/be impeached if they succumb to said leverage.
Their only duty, their only fiduciary, their only constituent is WE THE PEOPLE as a collective. It is not Johnson and Johnson.
That said, we live in an odd time. Supposedly we don’t negotiate with terrorists and let hostages die, but we are sending millions of weapons to a country who is known and proven to fund terror and extrajudicial assassinations.