Johnson & Johnson's 'monster' doc injected Black prisoners with ASBESTOS and paid them $10!
Pharma giant Johnson & Johnson is accused of funding a 1970s prison experiment on a group of mostly Black Pennsylvania prisoners to determine whether it was safe to use asbestos in talcum powder. Although knowledge of these controversial experiments conducted by Dr Albert Kligman, a University of Pennsylvania dermatologist, has been in the public domain for years, J&J's involvement has just come to light.
As per reports, the inmates at Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were offered $10 to $300 (in today's money equivalent to between $100 to $2,500) to take part in the study. However, they were likely unaware of the significant health risk. Participants of the study were injected with asbestos and talc, a powder that forms the base of J&J's iconic baby powder product to determine if the mineral could be safely used without causing negative reactions. Studies have shown that asbestos is an extremely dangerous chemical that can cause lung cancers, among other conditions.
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As a result of these brutal experiments, many participants were gravely harmed. One participant identified as Leodus Jones, died in 2018 aged 74, having suffered a lifetime of horrific pain. Jones daughter described his injuries has so jarring that he had turned into a "monster." The participant's daughter said: "I was four or five when I first saw my father's back and it scared me so badly, I ran to my mother and told her that daddy had turned into a monster."
According to the documents, Dr Kligman recruited ten prisoners for the 1971 experiment. Those injected with chrysotile asbestos developed granulomas, sores on the body caused by inflammation, signaling a deeper medical issue. Other participants developed Mesothelioma, a cancerous tumor that forms outside of a person's lungs, heart and other organs. The FDA recalled J&J talc products in October 2019, after finding traces of asbestos in nine of 43 samples tested.
Prison experiments is the latest controversy to haunt Johnson & Johnson. The firm is already involved in thousands of lawsuits regarding the use of talc and its potential for causing cancer. J&J has already paid out billions in settlements due to its baby powder, which pushed the firm into filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. Speaking about the experiments, a J&J spokesperson told Bloomberg, "We deeply regret the conditions under which these studies were conducted, and in no way, do they reflect the values or practices we employ today. As the world's largest healthcare company, our transparent, diligent approach to bioethics is at the heart of all we promise our customers and society."