Tampon Dangers Hoax

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This is a hoax. For more information see:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/science/urbanlegends/library/weekly/aa111898.htm

or http://www.snopes.com/toxins/tampon.htm
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Have you heard that tampon makers include asbestos in
tampons? Why? 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(not),
did not consider tampons as being ingested, and therefore
wasn’t illegal or considered dangerous.

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 @ (phone
removed because this is fake) and Terra Femme @
(phone removed because this is fake).

A woman getting her Ph.D. at University of Colorado @
Boulder sent the following:

Read on if you value your health. “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 a lot about biology and
woman, 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. 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 lead to very harmful problems for a
woman. Dioxin is potentially carcinogenic (cancer-
associated) and is toxic to the immune and reproductive
systems. It has been linked to endometriosis as well as 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. It
also stays in a lot 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 (which causes the
dioxin) and that are all cotton (the rayon will leave fibers and
“breeding grounds” in the vagina). Other feminine hygiene
products (pads/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, German, 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 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 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.

Thank you.