Sunscreen lawsuits are legal claims against sunscreen manufacturers including Johnson & Johnson, Neutrogena, Aveeno and others for making products that contain the toxic chemical benzene. Exposure to high levels of benzene may cause leukemia and other cancers in humans.
Why Are Sunscreen Lawsuits Being Filed?
People are filing sunscreen lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, Aveeno and Neutrogena because these companies manufactured products containing benzene, which may have led plaintiffs to develop cancer.
Consumers purchased J&J’s sunscreens to decrease their risk of skin cancer. Little did they know J&J’s products contained an undisclosed carcinogen, benzene, that potentially increases their chances of developing the very cancer the product is marketed to prevent.
J&J marketed its sunscreen products as safe, but instead they were “dangerous and unfit for use” because they contained benzene, according to Minett Fernandez’s lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson.
Benzene
Benzene is a toxic chemical used to make products such as plastic, rubber and pesticides, but forest fires and volcanoes also create it naturally.
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies benzene as a human carcinogen based on evidence that it causes acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to the American Cancer Society.
In addition, some studies have also linked it to acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
According to a 2021 study published in BMJ, benzene is thought to cause cancer by creating chronic inflammation and suppressing the immune system.
Recalled J&J Sunscreen Products
On July 14, 2021, Johnson & Johnson, Aveeno and Neutrogena recalled five aerosol sunscreens because lab testing found low levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene in the products. These recalled products are the focus of sunscreen lawsuits, but other sunscreens that are found to contain benzene could be included even if manufacturers haven’t recalled them.
Recalled products include:
Aveeno Protect + Refresh aerosol sunscreen
Neutrogena Invisible Daily defense aerosol sunscreen
Neutrogena Beach Defense aerosol sunscreen
Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport aerosol sunscreen
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer aerosol sunscreen
The companies are still investigating how the carcinogen ended up in the products, but Johnson & Johnson said the amounts found in their products aren’t expected to cause adverse health consequences, according to a company statement. Valisure, an online pharmacy, filed an FDA citizen petition shortly before J&J issued its recalls. According to the company’s testing, several of J&J’s products contained amounts of benzene well over the acceptable limits established by the FDA and Environmental Protection Agency. While J&J recalled these five products, Valisure found other J&J products that contained high levels of benzene, and these remain on the market.
Can Sunscreen Cause Cancer?
There isn’t evidence that sunscreen causes cancer, according to MD Anderson Cancer Center. However, benzene and other chemicals contained in sunscreen may increase the risk of developing cancer. Valisure detected benzene in 78 out of the 300 sunscreens and after-sun products it tested.
Benzene isn’t an ingredient that’s allowed in sunscreen, but it could have contaminated sunscreen products or developed as a byproduct of other ingredients in the sunscreens tested, according to Dr. Michael Kasper, director of radiation oncology for Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
“It may be a naturally occurring breakdown of other chemicals contained in those sunscreens, such as avobenzone, oxybenzone and homosalate,” Kasper said in an article published by Baptist Health South Florida.
According to studies cited in Valisure’s citizen petition, “exposure over a long period of time to any concentration of benzene greater than zero is not safe.”
Who Can File a Sunscreen Cancer Lawsuit?
If you or a loved one used a J&J sunscreen that contained benzene and developed cancer, you may qualify to file a lawsuit. If you are unsure whether your specific cancer diagnosis qualifies for a lawsuit, a sunscreen lawsuit attorney can help.
Cancers associated with benzene exposure include:
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Multiple myeloma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma