> Have you heard that tampon makers include asbestos in tampons? Why would
> they do this? Because asbestos makes you bleed more . . . if you bleed
> more, you're going to need to use more. Why isn't this against the law
> since asbestos is so dangerous? Because the powers that be, in all their
> wisdom, did not consider tampons as being ingested, and therefore wasn't
> illegal or considered dangerous.
>
> Tampons have been around since the 1930s, and women have largely taken
> their safety for granted. But over the past three decades there has been a
> staggering increase in illnesses that were once thought of as rare,
> including endometriosis, fibroids (growths in the uterus), pelvic
> inflammatory disease, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), and cancer,
> causing some to take another look at those ubiquitous products.
>
> The worst offenders were Procter and Gamble's ultra-absorbent Rely
> tampons. According to the book Soap Opera: The Inside Story of Procter and
> Gamble, the company dismissed consumer complaints about the tampons for
> years. A 1975 company memo disclosed that Rely tampons contained known
> cancer-causing agents and that the product altered the natural organisms
> found in the vagina. Rely tampons were taken off the shelves in 1980, but
> many women claim they left a legacy of hysterectomies and loss of
> fertility.
>
> After this crisis, carboxymethylcellulose, polyacrylate rayon (a
> derivative of wood pulp) and polyester were outlawed for tampons, but
> viscous rayon can still be used, which concerns some observers. "Viscous
> rayon can still amplify toxins to some extent, and the lowest risk [for
> TSS] would be had by using all cotton," says Dr. Philip Tierno of the New
> York University Medical Center. Today most tampons are made with rayon,
> conventional cotton, and undisclosed chemical fragrances.
>
> The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) insists such tampons are safe but
> so did they insist that the now banned components were also safe until it
> was uncovered to be harmful. How much longer will it take for these to
> also be banned? Or rather, how many more women need to be diagnosed with
> cervical cancer or other dis-eases before their lives are considered
> valuable?
>
> This month's Essence magazine has a small article about this and they
> mention two manufacturers of a cotton tampon alternative. The companies
> are Organic Essentials @ 800-765-6491 and Terra Femme @ 800-755-0212.
>
> A woman getting her Ph.D. at University of Colorado, at Boulder sent the
> following: "I am writing this because women are not being informed about
> the dangers of something most of us use -tampons. I am taking a class this
> month and I have been learning alot about biology and women, including
> much about feminine hygiene.
>
> Recently we have learned that tampons are actually dangerous (for other
> reasons than TSS). I'll tell you this, after learning about this in our
> class, most of the females wound up feeling angry and upset with the
> tampon industry, and I for one, am going to do something about it. To
> start, I want to inform everyone I can, and email is the fastest way that
> I know how. GET ANGRY AND DO SOMETHING...STOP USING THESE POISONS AND GET
> NATURAL! LET OTHERS KNOW THE SAME!!!!!! OUR BODIES ARE NOT TESTING
> LABS...........ARRRRGGGGHHHH!"
>
> Here is the scoop: Tampons contain two things that are potentially
> harmful: Rayon (for absorbency), and dioxin (a chemical used in bleaching
> the products). The tampon industry is convinced that we, as women, need
> bleached white products - in order to view the product as pure and clean.
> The problem here is that the dioxin produced in this bleaching process can
> destroy body cells
>
> Dioxin is an acidic carcinogenic (cancereous-associated) and is toxic to
> all body cells including immune and reproductive cells. It has also been
> linked to endometriosis and lower sperm counts for men - for both, it
> breaks down the immune system.
>
> Last September the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that
> there really is no set "acceptable" level of exposure to dioxin given that
> it is cumulative and slow to disintegrate. The real danger comes from
> repeated contact (Karen Houppert "Pulling the Plug on the Tampon
> Industry"). I'd say using about 4-5 tampons a day, five days a month, for
> 38 menstruating years is "repeated contact", wouldn't' you?
>
> Rayon contributes to the danger of tampons and dioxin because it is a
> highly absorbent substance. Therefore, when fibers from the tampons are
> left behind in the vagina (as it usually occurs), it creates a breeding
> ground for the dioxin and other toxic acids. It also stays in alot longer
> than it would with just cotton tampons. This is also the reason why TSS
> (toxic shock syndrome) occurs.
>
> WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?
>
> Using feminine hygiene products that aren't bleached and that are all
> cotton. Other feminine hygiene products ds/napkins) contain dioxin as
> well, but they are not nearly as dangerous since they are not in direct
> contact with the vagina. The pads/napkins need to stop being bleached, but
> obviously tampons are the most dangerous.
>
> So, what can you do if you can't give up using tampons ? Use tampons, that
> are made from 100% cotton, and that are UNBLEACHED. Unfortunately, there
> are very very few companies that make these safe tampons. They are usually
> only found in health food stores. Countries all over the world (Sweden,
> Germany, British Columbia, etc.) have demanded a switch to this safer
> tampon, while the U.S. has decided to keep us in the dark about it.
>
> In 1989, activists in England mounted a campaign against chlorine
> bleaching. Six weeks and 50,000 letters later, the makers of sanitary
> products switched to oxygen bleaching (one of the green methods
> available). (MS magazine, May/June 1995)
>
> WHAT TO DO NOW: Tell people. Everyone. Inform them. We are being
> manipulated by this industry and the government, let's do something about
> it!
>
> Please write to the manufacturing companies:
>
> Tampax (Tambrands),
> Playtex,
> O.B.,
> Kotex.
>
> Call the 800 numbers listed on the boxes. Let them know that we demand a
> safe product - ALL COTTON UNBLEACHED TAMPONS.
> they do this? Because asbestos makes you bleed more . . . if you bleed
> more, you're going to need to use more. Why isn't this against the law
> since asbestos is so dangerous? Because the powers that be, in all their
> wisdom, did not consider tampons as being ingested, and therefore wasn't
> illegal or considered dangerous.
>
> Tampons have been around since the 1930s, and women have largely taken
> their safety for granted. But over the past three decades there has been a
> staggering increase in illnesses that were once thought of as rare,
> including endometriosis, fibroids (growths in the uterus), pelvic
> inflammatory disease, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), and cancer,
> causing some to take another look at those ubiquitous products.
>
> The worst offenders were Procter and Gamble's ultra-absorbent Rely
> tampons. According to the book Soap Opera: The Inside Story of Procter and
> Gamble, the company dismissed consumer complaints about the tampons for
> years. A 1975 company memo disclosed that Rely tampons contained known
> cancer-causing agents and that the product altered the natural organisms
> found in the vagina. Rely tampons were taken off the shelves in 1980, but
> many women claim they left a legacy of hysterectomies and loss of
> fertility.
>
> After this crisis, carboxymethylcellulose, polyacrylate rayon (a
> derivative of wood pulp) and polyester were outlawed for tampons, but
> viscous rayon can still be used, which concerns some observers. "Viscous
> rayon can still amplify toxins to some extent, and the lowest risk [for
> TSS] would be had by using all cotton," says Dr. Philip Tierno of the New
> York University Medical Center. Today most tampons are made with rayon,
> conventional cotton, and undisclosed chemical fragrances.
>
> The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) insists such tampons are safe but
> so did they insist that the now banned components were also safe until it
> was uncovered to be harmful. How much longer will it take for these to
> also be banned? Or rather, how many more women need to be diagnosed with
> cervical cancer or other dis-eases before their lives are considered
> valuable?
>
> This month's Essence magazine has a small article about this and they
> mention two manufacturers of a cotton tampon alternative. The companies
> are Organic Essentials @ 800-765-6491 and Terra Femme @ 800-755-0212.
>
> A woman getting her Ph.D. at University of Colorado, at Boulder sent the
> following: "I am writing this because women are not being informed about
> the dangers of something most of us use -tampons. I am taking a class this
> month and I have been learning alot about biology and women, including
> much about feminine hygiene.
>
> Recently we have learned that tampons are actually dangerous (for other
> reasons than TSS). I'll tell you this, after learning about this in our
> class, most of the females wound up feeling angry and upset with the
> tampon industry, and I for one, am going to do something about it. To
> start, I want to inform everyone I can, and email is the fastest way that
> I know how. GET ANGRY AND DO SOMETHING...STOP USING THESE POISONS AND GET
> NATURAL! LET OTHERS KNOW THE SAME!!!!!! OUR BODIES ARE NOT TESTING
> LABS...........ARRRRGGGGHHHH!"
>
> Here is the scoop: Tampons contain two things that are potentially
> harmful: Rayon (for absorbency), and dioxin (a chemical used in bleaching
> the products). The tampon industry is convinced that we, as women, need
> bleached white products - in order to view the product as pure and clean.
> The problem here is that the dioxin produced in this bleaching process can
> destroy body cells
>
> Dioxin is an acidic carcinogenic (cancereous-associated) and is toxic to
> all body cells including immune and reproductive cells. It has also been
> linked to endometriosis and lower sperm counts for men - for both, it
> breaks down the immune system.
>
> Last September the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that
> there really is no set "acceptable" level of exposure to dioxin given that
> it is cumulative and slow to disintegrate. The real danger comes from
> repeated contact (Karen Houppert "Pulling the Plug on the Tampon
> Industry"). I'd say using about 4-5 tampons a day, five days a month, for
> 38 menstruating years is "repeated contact", wouldn't' you?
>
> Rayon contributes to the danger of tampons and dioxin because it is a
> highly absorbent substance. Therefore, when fibers from the tampons are
> left behind in the vagina (as it usually occurs), it creates a breeding
> ground for the dioxin and other toxic acids. It also stays in alot longer
> than it would with just cotton tampons. This is also the reason why TSS
> (toxic shock syndrome) occurs.
>
> WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?
>
> Using feminine hygiene products that aren't bleached and that are all
> cotton. Other feminine hygiene products ds/napkins) contain dioxin as
> well, but they are not nearly as dangerous since they are not in direct
> contact with the vagina. The pads/napkins need to stop being bleached, but
> obviously tampons are the most dangerous.
>
> So, what can you do if you can't give up using tampons ? Use tampons, that
> are made from 100% cotton, and that are UNBLEACHED. Unfortunately, there
> are very very few companies that make these safe tampons. They are usually
> only found in health food stores. Countries all over the world (Sweden,
> Germany, British Columbia, etc.) have demanded a switch to this safer
> tampon, while the U.S. has decided to keep us in the dark about it.
>
> In 1989, activists in England mounted a campaign against chlorine
> bleaching. Six weeks and 50,000 letters later, the makers of sanitary
> products switched to oxygen bleaching (one of the green methods
> available). (MS magazine, May/June 1995)
>
> WHAT TO DO NOW: Tell people. Everyone. Inform them. We are being
> manipulated by this industry and the government, let's do something about
> it!
>
> Please write to the manufacturing companies:
>
> Tampax (Tambrands),
> Playtex,
> O.B.,
> Kotex.
>
> Call the 800 numbers listed on the boxes. Let them know that we demand a
> safe product - ALL COTTON UNBLEACHED TAMPONS.