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Thanks for that. I just received this email. It's kind of long but worth the read. It had me a little concerned. Can you buy the softcup in stores or just online. I live in Canada?
Women's health issue
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
arcinogenic (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 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. 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 1-800 numbers are listed on the boxes.
Let them know that we demand a safe product: ALL COTTON UNBLEACHED
TAMPONS.
REMINDER: 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. Thanks!!
Tracy Tizzard-Drover BSc(Hons), MA, MSc.
Project Manager
Eastern Health
L.A. Miller Centre
Forest Road, St. John's, NL
Telephone: 777-4591
Dawn King
Secretary Nursing Administration
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Ahhhhhhhh. No more worries!!!
, but the above information about asbestos is false. I encourage folks to check out 
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