Talcum Powder Yet Another in a Long Line of Products and Medications Harmful to Women

For well more than a century, the makers of drugs, medical devices and other products such as talcum powder have harmed women in disproportionate numbers. Corporations have rushed products to market with little regard for the health of women and hidden dangers from healthcare professionals and consumers.

Those are just some of the conclusions drawn by a publication issued by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) titled “Unequal Harm: The Disproportionate Danger to Women from Dangerous Drugs and Medical Devices.”

A Long History of Mistreatment

According to the publication, women have suffered more than men from medical devices, drugs and many consumer products. Many of the risks to women were largely unknown because women were, unbelievably, excluded from most clinical trials until 1993. Even today, the AAJ reported, women are still underrepresented when it comes to the evaluations of drugs and medical devices. Drugs, devices and products marketed specifically for women have “long skirted the edge of responsible medicine,” according to the AAJ.

These are just a few of the examples cited by the Association:

• Hormone replacement therapy
• Intrauterine devices (IUDs)
• Tampons
• Parlodel (a drug used to suppress lactation and treat cocaine withdrawal and Parkinson’s disease)
• Accutane (a skin cancer drug later marketed as an acne treatment)
• Transvaginal mesh

What’s been the main motivation for this mistreatment of women? Pure greed. The AAJ states that corporations have consistently concealed known dangers to women in order to maximize profits. When those dangers become known they scoff at them, believing that profits will eventually justify any repercussions.