Johnson & Johnson is required to pay $72 million in damages to the family of a Missouri woman who claimed baby powder caused her to become a cancer patient. The lawsuit linked the pharmaceutical company's talcum powder and other products to the serious disease.

This civil suit was part of a larger claim in the St. Louis circuit court that included almost 60 people, according to The Guardian. Jackie Fox's son became the plaintiff after his mother passed away in October 2015 at the age of 62. That was over two years after her cancer diagnosis.

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Marvin Salter said his late mother used the talc powder for decades and compared her daily use of the product to brushing teeth.

The trial lasted for three weeks and ended with an almost five-hour jury meeting. This was the first of over 1,000 similar cases throughout the United States to result in a monetary award.

$10 million was awarded in actual damage. Meanwhile, $52 million was given in damages to punish the company.

Johnson & Johnson is the world's largest producer of healthcare products. Salter's attorney James Onder is sure the company will appeal the decision.  

Carol Goodrich is a J&J spokeswoman. She explained that it is considering the next legal step it will take.

Goodrich wrote in a statement that the verdict opposes decades of science that proves talc is a safe ingredient in many products. That included research by the National Cancer Institute.  

In the past the company has been accused by health and consumer groups for putting harmful ingredients in its products. That includes its No More Tears baby shampoo.  

In 2009 several groups teamed up to push Johnson & Johnson to remove certain ingredients from its baby and adult personal care products. It even threatened to boycott the company.

Then in 2012 the healthcare product company agreed to remove two possible cancer-causing ingredients from its products by 2015. That included 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde.

During the trial lawyers accused Johnson & Johnson of failing to warn customers that talcum products could be cancer-causing. About 1,200 total cases have been filed in Missouri and New Jersey, according to Reuters.

Here are some alternatives to baby powder: