HOME       Contact Us      Hire Us       Domestic Airlines        Railway Enquiry     Railway Booking     Hotels & Flights Abroad
NEIGHBOURS CALLING:      Dubai      Malaysia     Nepal     Bhutan
Yogi Logo
indiatraveltimes.com
Yogi Logo
Johnson & Johnson recalls spray-on sunscreens having cancer-causing benzene

The pharma giant has listed the batches of its sunscreen brands that contain the toxic benzene and asked customers to request a refund. It has pleaded ignorance as to how the chemical got into its products, claiming benzene is not an ingredient. The FDA watchdog too has taken a neutral stand, washing its hands of a scam of global magnitude. (List of Batches recalled)

NEW BRUNSWICK, (New Jersey) July 21: Next time before you slather your sunscreen on the skin, check if it is from the batches of Neutrogena or Aveeno brands which have been recalled by its manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, (LOOK UP THE LIST) because it contains a harmful substance, benzene, that causes cancer.

The pharma giant pulled its Neutrogena and Aveeno spray sunscreens from the stores after it came to light that the products contain the potentially cancer-causing chemical. Earlier the company was caught in another scam, using cancer-causing asbestos in baby powder. It was ordered to pay very heavy compensation.

Sunscreen is used to protect the skin againt ultraviolet rays of the sun by absorbing or reflecting the UV radiation from the skin. By doing so, it prevents cancer. Ultraviolet radiation is a well- established carcinogen. Cancer gets over 3 million people each year, according to JAMA. Sunscreen also prevents sunburn and premature aging of the skin such as wrinkles, leathery skin etc. However, it is an irony that the product supposed to prevent cancer has been found to contain benzene that causes cancer.

While pulling its sprays from market shelves, Johnson & Johnson issued a statement that the levels of benzene detected in the products were low and would not have any adverse effect on health.

Strangely, the pharma company also claimed that benzene is not an ingredient of its sunscreens and it does not know from where the chemical has crept into its products! So naive! Alas! It was also unusual that the powerful US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), which is a watchdog overseeing drug production in the US, did not have any explanation, exposing its limitations in detecting and taking care of such risk factors.

The pharma speculated a probable theory about how benzene found its way into the sunscreens: that some of the ingredients break down into benzene!

The contaminated brands

Benzene was found in the sunscreen products in tests conducted by an autonomous laboratory, Valisure. The following were the contaminated brands:-

  1. Aveeno Protect + Refresh
  2. Neutrogena Beach defense
  3. Neutrogena CoolDry Sport
  4. Neutrogena UltraSheer
  5. Neutrogena Invisible Daily Defense

Besides, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) also understated the recall as "out of an abundance of caution":

"While benzene is not an ingredient in any of our sunscreen products, it was detected in some samples of the impacted aerosol sunscreen finished products," J&J said in its statement. "Consumers should stop using these specific products and appropriately discard them."

How to get the refund

It said customers can call with questions and request a refund by completing a form or calling 1-800-458-1673, giving purchase details like product name, size and quantity of items purchased, proof of purchase (picture/scan of receipt or single picture of all items) for refund request of 4 or more units.

"If you have additional questions associated with this Voluntary Recall, please visit our website or call 1-800-458-1673," the company announced.

The sunscreens tested by Valisure were only a tiny sample of the more than 11,000 registered sun care products on the market.

What is benzene and why is it dangerous?

Benzene (C6H6) is a colourless volatile liquid hydrocarbon present in coal tar and petroleum. Automobile exhaust and factory emissions contain benzene. Benzine is different, it is a hydrocarbon-based solvent mixture.

Benzene is a natural component of crude oil, gasoline and cigarette smoke. It ranks in the top 20 chemicals used for the production of "lubricants, rubbers, dyes, detergents, drugs, and pesticides, plastics, resins and nylon and synthetic fibres," according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Benzene is a colourless or light yellow liquid with a sweet odor. It is highly flammable, and floats on water. It evaporates quickly and is heavier than air and can sink into low-lying areas, the CDC noted.

Exposure to high levels of benzene causes cancer.

How to check what to buy

GO TO Environmental Working Group (EWG) site and get a free sunscreen guide on what is good and what is not. It gives an idea on how to select good, safe sunscreens.

Even in the US there is no cosmetics safety laws. There is no easy way of testing for contaminants either. The situation is really alarming as most sunscreens and cosmetics could contain hazardous substances since the market demand is huge everywhere in the world. There is no easy way you can tell the real from the contaminated.

The only alternative to sunscreen is wearing clothes full sleeved and long trouserrs covering the body to block the dangerous, cancer-causing solar rays of peak hours.

ADVERTISEMENT

SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES

The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.

The irony lies in her illustration of her experiences in the country she has been living in for the last four years. What it really is!

ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!

The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.

Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.

  • The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
  • The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
  • The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)

A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924) (Today's headlines )

Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”

Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.

PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.

Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people. (Today's headlines )

"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...

Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.

Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.

As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.

The committee headed by justice Kurian Joseph will study Centre-State relations and make proposals to ensure foolproof separation of powers.

"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.

Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.

ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!

What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America! (Today's headlines )

PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).

In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.

THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.

The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.

Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See: New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)

ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Files
ARCHIVES

ADVERTISEMENT

Neighbours
Calling

Bhutan
Nepal
Malaysia
Dubai

Vaishno Devi Yatra is suspended since July 19 due to heavy rain and landslides
Lakhs visit the temple in Katra a day
Paleontologist Dr Alan Grant of Jurassic Park, actor Sam Neill dies in Sydney at 78
A legendary Dr Grant
Apex court stays Madras HC order to enforce ban on cow slaughter across Tamil Nadu
Cow is a religious symbol
"Nightingale of South India", veteran playback singer S Janaki dies at Apollo in Mysuru
Playback singer
Modi hoists saffron flag atop Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, marking completion of temple construction
Guru Purnima celebrations on Thursday, July 10: Why Hindus celebrate Guru Purnima; its significance
Krystyna Pyszková passes on Miss World crown to Opal Suchata from Thailand
Amarnath yatra commences on July 3, concludes on Aug 9; registration dates to be announced
Maha Kumbh Mela: Millions of pilgrims take holy dip at Triveni Sangam in Prayag on Vasant Panchami
Veteran Malayalam playback singer P Jayachandran passes away at 80 after prolonged illness

Fashion & Lifestyle
Cuisines
Yoga & Asanas
Fairs, Festivals & Melas
Religion & Cult
Pilgrimage
Art & Culture
History, Legends & Mythology
Ayurveda
Free Ayurveda Consultation
ADVERTISEMENT

ARCHIVES
A Window On India
Fashion & Lifestyle
Yoga & Asanas
Fairs, Festivals & Melas
Religion & Cult
Pilgrimage
Art & Culture
History, Legends & Mythology
Ayurveda
News (Archives)
Travel News
Travel News Archives
Travel News Index



Custom Search


Home
Contact Us

NOTE: Free contributions of articles and reports may be sent to: IndiaTravelTimes[at]gmail[dot]com

DISCLAIMER
All Rights Reserved © 2026 www.indiatraveltimes.com