TAMPONS ARE A MAJOR HEALTH ISSUE: Backgrounder

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto: June 21, 1996.

The truth about tampons is steadily emerging. "Little White Lies," an article about the health risks of chlorinated rayon tampons, was published in the New York Daily News on June 6. The article attracted a deluge of phone calls from women, angry at not having been informed about the risks to their health, and demanding to know where they could buy alternatives. Named in the article were Terra Femme tampons, distributed by a Canadian company, Bio Business International Inc.

Company President, activist Wilhelmina (Willi) Nolan, has worked for over three years to educate women about the dangers of tampons and the benefits of using Terra Femme, which are made from 100% medical-grade cotton, without chlorine bleaching. Willi will be profiled in Ms. Magazine in the September, 1996 issue.

Bio Business, launched a hilarious 15-second animation on its World Wide Web site. The cartoon features Terra Femme, the sensuous, environmentally correct heroine, waging a battle against a chlorine bleached, environmentally toxic male "prince of tampons." During the company's recent "Name that Tampon" contest, the reprobate tampon was officially named "Prince Harming."

Nolan says that "The contest was a wonderful opportunity to alert women to the environmental and health hazards associated with chlorine bleaching, as well as to the health risks associated with the use of tampons." By-products from chlorine compounds include the deadly dioxins, PCBs, and CFCs.

In March of this year, a boycott against menstrual products containing chlorine compounds and artificial rayon fibers was initiated in the United States by women from universities and environmental interest groups. In May, 1994, a class action lawsuit was launched against the makers of Tampax and Playtex tampons, based on medical evidence linking the use of tampons containing rayon to deadly Toxic Shock Syndrome. Currently, representatives from the U.S. Federal government and the states of New York and California are being asked to consider banning tampons containing dioxin from the market.

Mass merchandisers have already begun to respond to the demand for non-chlorine cotton tampons: Terra Femme is available in Canada at Fortino's, selected Shopper's Drug Mart and I.D.A. stores, and Natural Health retailers.

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For further information, please contact:
Wilhelmina Nolan or Roni Bregman (416) 539-8548 or (416) 539-9784 fax BIO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL INC. Web Site: http://www.biobiz.com/terrafemme/

TAMPON CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

A class action lawsuit was launched in May 1994 against Tambrands Inc., manufacturers of Tampax tampons, and Playtex Family Products, Inc., makers of Playtex tampons, alleging that the companies have known for over ten years that the their tampons increase the likelihood of a woman developing the often fatal tampon-related Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). Tampax and Playtex tampons, along with the other leading brands, are made using rayon fibers and chlorine compounds. Every major tampon company has been sued by individuals seeking damages related to TSS.

According to independent, world-renowned microbiologist Dr. Philip Tierno, rayon fibers amplify the production of the TSST-1 toxin, known to be responsible for tampon-related TSS. Dr. Tierno's studies encompass over fifteen years of research at New York University Hospital. His testimony was critical in the successful 1980 lawsuit against Proctor and Gamble's 'Rely' tampon, which was conclusively found to harbor and amplify the TSST-1 toxin. Rely tampons were subsequently ordered removed from the U.S. market. The most recent studies conclude that the risk of production of the toxin in women's bodies is greatly reduced when they use the all-cotton Terra Femme tampons.

Contrary to recommendations by health authorities, tampon advertisements seen over the past two years have encouraged women to believe that it is safe to use tampons overnight, based on new research from "leading gynecologists". In Canada, health authorities have ordered the makers of Tampax tampons to remove the crescent moon from their packaging; a woman representative from the Canadian health department stated that she doesn't recommend overnight use "at all". Both U.S. and Canadian health authorities recommend changing a tampon every four to six hours, and most health professionals advise against the overnight use of tampons. Tierno said that the only way that a tampon can be used safely overnight is for a woman to be tested for antibodies to TSS or to use all cotton tampons.

In 1990, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimated the incidence of menstruation-related TSS to be 1 to 17 per 100,000 women. This means that 710 to 12, 410 women per year contracted the disease from 1990 to 1994. However, the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta estimates that only 10% of all TSS cases are actually reported. Therefore, the incidence of TSS would more likely be 7,100 to 124,100 women per year. Given this calculation and with a TSS case fatality rate of 6 to 15%, somewhere between 43 and 7,446 women will die this year of tampon-related TSS in the United States alone. The rate is equal to, or higher than, women's deaths from AIDS. And Rely tampons aren't around anymore; before the introduction of artificial fibres, tampons were not linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome.

Oddly enough, both companies enjoined in the class action will come out with all-cotton tampon this year, both spending unprecedented amounts on advertising for the product. Reports of their reasoning for introducing cotton tampons to their line suggest that this has nothing to do with the lawsuit, just that some consumers like the idea of cotton, especially "health food freaks." Both companies continue to sell tampon brands containing chlorine-bleached rayon fibres.

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For further information, please contact:

Wilhelmina Nolan or Roni Bregman
BIO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL INC. (416) 539-8548
(416) 539-9784 fax
Web: http://www.biobiz.com/terrafemme/

TAMPON FACT SHEET

There are 73 million menstruating women in the United States.
Approximately 70 per cent of menstruating women in North America use tampons.
The average woman can use 11,400 tampons in a life-time (five tampons per day, five days per month for 38 years.)
Studies released at the American Society for Microbiology (May 1994) , clearly indicated the propensity for rayon tampons to amplify the production of the Toxic Shock Syndrome toxin, TSST-1. The report was completed by independent microbiologist Dr. Philip Tierno (NYU Medical Center), who maintains that all tampons containing rayon have the same ability to amplify the production of TSST-1. Dr. Tierno's 1994 study reported that "Terra Femme" all cotton tampons did not amplify the TSST-1 toxin.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported 216 cases of menstrual TSS in 1993 and 244 cases in 1992. Menstrual TSS patients have been as young as 11 years of age and as mature as 60; 60% of the cases involve women between the ages of 15 and 24 years.
Canadian doctors are not required by law to report TSS. However, there are published reports of Canadian women who have suffered and died from tampon-related TSS.
The case-fatality rate for TSS in 6 to 15 percent. The risk of developing TSS is higher for women under 30 years of age.
Statistical experts say that only about 10 per cent of TSS cases are recorded because of unreliable reporting, doctors today being better equipped to handle TSS cases in emergency rooms, and the fact that many women suffer only mild, flu-like symptoms of the disease.
Tampons can also contain "absorbency enhancers," ingredients that are "trade secrets." These have been shown to cause vaginal dryness, as they tend to absorb both menstrual blood and normal vaginal secretions, leading to peeling of the mucous membrane, vaginal ulcers and lesions.
Fibers (rayon) from tampons have become imbedded in vaginal walls, causing inflammation, according to studies published in Obstetrics & Gynecology in 1980.
Perfumes and fragrances in deodorant tampons are reported to cause internal irritation, allergic reactions and disrupt a woman's microbial balance.
Arterial laceration has been reported - caused by "flower petal soft" plastic applicators.
All tampons whose chief component is rayon contain detectable levels of dioxin.
Tests showing that dioxin levels once thought acceptably low, adversely affect the reproductive and immune systems are discussed in the EPA report "A Health Assessment Document for Dioxin" due to be published in 1996.
The wisest course of action is to use 100% cotton chlorine-free tampons and to ensure that tampons contain no dioxin.

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For further information, please contact:

Wilhelmina Nolan or Roni Bregman
BIO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL INC. (416) 539-8548
(416) 539-9784 fax
Web: http://www.biobiz.com/terrafemme/