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From: Nityanand Jayaraman
Tampons - how safe? Unsafe?
I received this email today from a feminist friend in Australia and passit on so women may be informed and make better choices. I have been able
to verify the truth in the information so pass it on. Make them honest!!
Another opportunity for women to exert their influence and voice on the
companies that use deception to raise profit. If you are a woman and use
pads, but especially if you use tampons, read this and pass it on to your
friends. If you don't please pass on to your friends who do. For the men
receiving this email, please forward it to your friends, significant
others, mothers & daughters, etc.. Thanks Shubha
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 this isn't 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,
didn't consider them illegal or 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 and Terra Femme (Do not know in India) .A woman
getting her PhD 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 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 it 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, which is 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 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 fibres 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 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.
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. Many 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 (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!!!!
Cross posted:indiathinkersnet
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"If we fight, we may not always win, but if we don't fight, we will surely lose."
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SAVAD RAHMAN
subeditor,MADHYAMAM daily,
pooppalam, perinthalmanna,kerala,
india
cell:(91)-9846085873
