(no subject)
Got this in an email and it makes me angry!
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
>co! ! nsider 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
h! ave
>learned that tampons are actually dangerous (for other reas ons 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 armful:
>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 Sep! tember, 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 P! ! lug 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. Othe! r feminine hygiene products
>(pads/napkins) contain dioxin as w ell, 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. This industry and
>government are manipulating us; let's do something about it! Please write
>to the com! panies: 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...
>
>REMIN! ! DER: In order not to lose the impact of this email, I suggest that
>anyone who wants to forward it to their friends, PLEASE copy this mail and
>paste it to a NEW message. That way it will not distort the whole message
>with all the forward arrows. Please do this with consideration and
>seriousness."
>
>
>
>Thank you
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
>co! ! nsider 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
h! ave
>learned that tampons are actually dangerous (for other reas ons 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 armful:
>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 Sep! tember, 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 P! ! lug 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. Othe! r feminine hygiene products
>(pads/napkins) contain dioxin as w ell, 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. This industry and
>government are manipulating us; let's do something about it! Please write
>to the com! panies: 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...
>
>REMIN! ! DER: In order not to lose the impact of this email, I suggest that
>anyone who wants to forward it to their friends, PLEASE copy this mail and
>paste it to a NEW message. That way it will not distort the whole message
>with all the forward arrows. Please do this with consideration and
>seriousness."
>
>
>
>Thank you