Decades old habits influenced by commercials and direct to consumer marketing by J&J have contributed to increased exposure.

Women across the country are being warned that using talcum powder as part of their feminine hygiene routine may increase their risk of ovarian cancer, and in an editorial published last month in Time magazine, an associate professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas suggested that African American women may be at a greater risk than other women, due to strategic marketing by companies that sell talc based products.