Subject: What every woman should know


>This was such a surprise to me, as I had never heard anything like it
>before, that I felt the need to pass it along to EVERY female in my
>address
>book! I don't consider myself paranoid, but knowledge is better than
>ignorance in this case!!
>
>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 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@ (800) 765-6491 and
>Terra Femme @ (800)755-0212.
>
>A woman getting her Ph.D. at University of Colorado @
>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 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 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 acumulative 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 and that are all cotton. 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 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. Call the 800 numbers listed on the
>boxes. Let them know that we demand a safe
>product- ALL COTTON UNBLEACHED TAMPONS.
>
>Reminder:
>P.S. In order not to lose the impact of this email, I
>suggest that anyone who want to forward to your friends,
>PLEASE copy this mail and paste to a NEW message. That way
>will not distort the
>whole message with all the forward arrows. Please do this
>with consideration and seriousness. Thanks!