This is something that we as women should all be aware of. If you use pads,
but especially if you use tampons, read this and pass on
to your friends. 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 tumours.

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. 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 iscumulative 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, thin fibbers from thetampons 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 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 ofsanitary
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.