asbestos in tampons

[asvenus]

sorry in advance for all the arrows!!

If you are a woman and use pads, but especially if you use tampons, read
this and pass it on to your friends. For the men receiving this email,
Please forward it to your friends, significant others, sisters, mothers,
daughters, etc. Thanks!
> >
> > Check the labels of the sanitary pads or tampons that you are going to buy
> > the next time and see whether you spot any of the familiar signs stated in
> > this email. No wonder so many women in the world suffer from cervical
> > cancer and womb tumors. 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 (not), did not
> > consider tampons as being ingested and, therefore, did not consider them
> > illegal or dangerous.
> >
> > This month's Essence magazine mentions 2 manufacturers of a cotton tampon
> > alternative. The companies are: Organic Essentials @ 1-800-765-6491 and
> > Terra Femme @ 1-800-755-0212.
> >
> > A woman getting her Ph.D. at University of Colorado 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 a lot about biology and women, including feminine
> > hygiene. Recently we have learned that tampons are actually dangerous (for
> > other reasons than TSS). 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
> > 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, 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 also been linked to endometriosis and
> > lower sperm counts for men. For both sexes, it breaks down the immune
> > system.
> >
> > Last September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that
> > there really is no "acceptable" level of exposure to dioxin given that it
is cumulative and slow to disintegrate. The real danger comes from
repeated contact (Karen Couppert "Pulling the Plug on the Tampon
Industry"). I'd say using about 4-5 tampons a day, five days a month, for
38 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 usually occurs), it
creates a breeding ground for the dioxin. It also stays in a lot longer
that 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
(pads/napkins) contain dioxin as well, but they are not nearly as
dangerous. So, what can you do if you can't give up using tampons? Use
tampons that are made from 100% UNBLEACHED cotton.

Unfortunately, there are 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 US 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 companies: Tampax (Tambrands); Playtex; O.B.;
Kotex. All the 800 numbers are listed on the boxes. Let them know that we
demand a safe product: ALL COTTON UNBLEACHED TAMPONS...

[nonamerasian]

Is this true?

[asvenus]

yes...

[applehead]

Originally Posted by nonamerasian

Is this true?

hard to imagine. but it's very true.
this isn't the first time i've heard it.
although it IS the first time i've heard
of safer tampon alternatives.

thanks for the info!

[nonamerasian]

Wow.

The only health issue I've ever heard about concerning pads or tampons is TSS.

[asvenus]

...so many products designed for women only usage are dangerous and have severe health issues connected with them...it makes me sick that really women are simply either guinea pigs or cash cows for these massive companies that get fatter and fatter....

this is just sick tho...asbestos!?!?! im sure its not the worst or the last thing tho

[ism]

Urban Legend...

- How qualified is "a woman getting her PhD" (in some program, maybe Basket Weaving) to make the statements presented? She doesn't even want to attach her name to the claim...
- "This month's Essense magazine" -- which month is this? Or year, for that matter?
- Putting asbestos in products is against the law from many products, especially for products that touch the skin.
- and the FDA had to issue a statement that there is no asbestos in tampons because of this e-mail forward. They also talk about dioxins here: http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/tamponsabs.html (from 1999)
- Rayon is used and it's better than cotton since it doesn't stick and leave fibers behind.

I donno. Maybe I have my BS detector turned all the way up. But there are the classic giveaways (via email, no date, poor/anonymous sources, no way to verify the sources) that should lead you straight to a Google search.

Anyway, sorry for intruding on the women's forum...

[asvenus]

as much as i would love to think this is some kind of sick joke i seriously dont think so..this is not the first instance where women have been used and abused just look at the pill and thalidomide treatments...we already know that TSS exists so is this that far to believe....

rayon may not leave fibres behind but add to that its a dangerous synthetic material which used in various other products completely unrealated to the body and as for asbestos, i dunno maybe i am too jaded and cynical but i really dont think any companies would particularly put womens health b4 profit but crazier things have happened....

[missmeow]

Total urban legend. Please read snopes.

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/tampon.htm

[applehead]

Originally Posted by nonamerasian

Wow.

The only health issue I've ever heard about concerning pads or tampons is TSS.

i've never heard about the
asbestos thing before but
the bit about the chlorine i've
heard is very unsafe.
especially when exposed to a
such a sensitive part of your body.

[Green_Jade]

We should empower women, not scare them..

[Faithless]

Originally Posted by missmeow

Total urban legend. Please read snopes.

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/tampon.htm

You know, if I was a mean person, I would de-karma a person for posting spam that has been out there for about six or seven years.

[lethal]

Trust me, as someone who has worked with asbestos lawsuits, if tampons had asbestos in them, tampon companies would have had the hell sued out of them for years.

Asbestos is highly regulated by the federal government for all uses and banned altogether for most uses. In fact, most asbestos manufacturers are completely out of business becasue of all the lawsuits.

Sorry to intrude in the women's forum.

[nola]

The best thing is to use rubber menstrual cups which last up to ten years. Great for the environment, your budget and I haven't heard of any health hazards. Lunapads is owned by a Chinese-Canadian woman to boot.

Men should be welcome as long as they are respectful.

edit: Lunapads changed their website. The Lins (a daughter and her mother) started the company and the company is huge now.

[ism]

Originally Posted by artzygrrl

We should empower women, not scare them..

I hate to say this but I think this spam has an ulterior motive. A lot of people think tampons are bad for several reasons, and one of the more common ones I've heard from the Religion Right is that it takes virginity away. As ridiculous that sounds it's something I heard and read more often than I'd like. The way this spam is worded is purely Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD), which is mixed with total lies to back it up. Donno who started it, an individual, a joker, a religious wacko, a maxipad employee, who knows?

Now, no reason to hate on the messenger. The email is worded slickly and it's meant to convince someone. The reasonable thing to do is to correct the ignorance. There's an evil here, and it's not the person that unknowingly spreads the lies. It's the root, and we can't track that down.

If anyone ever gets an email that they are not sure is true, I implore them to ask someone else (like us) if you are not capable of determining it yourself. There is nothing wrong with being suckered in if you're willing to correct it, and the fact that you search for help is proof that ultimately, you want the truth, and that's what matters.

Sorry if my initial response wasn't as polite as could be.