by Positively4thStreet » Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:59 pm
#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#This was emailed to me.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#If you are a woman and use pads, but especially if you use tampons, read#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#this and pass it on to your friends. For the men receiving this email,#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#please forward it to your friends, significant others, sisters, mothers,#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#daughters, etc.). Thanks!#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#The next time you buy sanitary pads or tampons, check the labels and see#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#whether you spot any of the familiar signs stated in this email.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl#No wonder so many women in the world suffer from cervical cancer and womb#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#tumors. Have you heard that tampon makers include asbestos in tampons? Why#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#would they do this? Because asbestos makes you bleed more, if you bleed#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#more, you're going to need to use more. Why isn't this against the law#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#since asbestos is so dangerous? Because the powers that be, in all their#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#wisdom (not), did not consider tampons as being ingested, and therefore,#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#didn't consider them illegal or dangerous.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl#This month's Essence magazine has a small article about this and they#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#mention two manufacturers of a cotton tampon alternative. The companies#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#are: Organic Essentials @ 1-800-765-6491 and Terra Femme @ 1-800-755-0212.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#A woman getting her Ph.D at University of Colorado at Boulder sent#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#thefollowing:#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl#"I am writing this because women are not being informed about the dangers#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#of something most of us use: tampons. I am taking a class this month and I#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#have been learning a lot about biology and women, including feminine#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#hygiene. Recently we have learned that tampons are actually dangerous (for#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#other reasons than TSS). After learning about this in our class, most of#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#the females wound up feeling angry and upset with the tampon industry, and#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#I for one, am going to do something about it. To start, I want to inform#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#everyone I can, and email is the fastest way that I know how." HERE IS THE#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#SCOOP:#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#Tampons contain two things that are potentially harmful:#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# Rayon (for absorbency), and dioxin (a chemical used in#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# bleaching the products). The tampon industry is convinced that we, as#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# women, need bleached white products in order to view the product as pure#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# and clean. The problem here is that the dioxin, which is produced in#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#this bleaching process, can lead to very harmful problems for a woman.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#Dioxin is potentially carcinogenic (cancer associated) and is toxic to the#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#immune and reproductive systems. It has also been linked to endometriosis#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#and#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# lower sperm counts for men. For both sexes, it breaks#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# down the immune system. Last September, the Environmental Protection#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# Agency (EPA) reported that there really is no "acceptable" level of#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# exposure to dioxin given that it is cumulative and slow to disintegrate.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# The real danger comes from repeated contact (Karen Couppert "Pulling the#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# Plug on the Tampon Industry"). I'd say using about 4-5 tampons a day,#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# five days a month, for 38 years is "repeated contact", wouldn't you?#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl# Rayon contributes to the danger of tampons and dioxin because it is a#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# highly absorbent substance. Therefore, when fibers from the tampons are#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# left behind in the vagina (as usually occurs), it creates a breeding#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# ground for the dioxin. It also stays in a lot longer then it would with#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# just cotton tampons. This is also the reason why TSS (toxic shock#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# syndrome) occurs.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl# WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl# Using feminine hygiene products that aren't bleached and that are all#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# cotton.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# Other feminine hygiene products (pads/napkins) contain dioxin as well,#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#but they are not nearly as dangerous. So, what can you do if you can't#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#give#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#up using tampons?#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl# Use tampons that are made from 100% UNBLEACHED. Unfortunately, there are#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# very few companies that make these safe tampons. They are usually only#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# found in health food stores.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# Countries all over the world (Sweden, Germany, British Columbia, etc.)#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# have demanded a switch to this safer tampon, while the U.S. has decided#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#to keep us in the dark about it.#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl# In 1989, activists in England mounted a campaign against chlorine#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# bleaching. Six weeks and America is not #1 in every arena. 50,000 letters#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# later, the makers of sanitary products switched to oxygen bleaching, one#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# of the green methods available (MS magazine, May/June 1995).#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl# WHAT TO DO NOW:#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl# Tell people. Everyone. Inform them. We are being manipulated by this#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# industry and the government, let's do something about it! Please write to#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# the companies: Tampax (Tambrands); Playtex; O.B.; Kotex. All the 800#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# numbers are listed on the boxes. Let them know that we demand a safe#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# product! ALL COTTON UNBLEACHED TAMPONS...#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl# REMINDER:#ed_op#BR#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl# In order not to lose the impact of this email, I suggest that anyone who#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# wants to forward it to your friends, PLEASE copy this mail and paste it#ed_op#BR#ed_cl# to a NEW message. That way it will not distort the whole message with#ed_op#BR#ed_cl#all the forward arrows. Please do this with consideration and seriousness#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#