Why aren't people more outraged about the new research on tampons?

In case you missed it, earlier this month, lead researchers at UC Berkeley released a new study, sharing first-of-its-kind research into what is actually found in tampons. That's right—first-of-its-kind. Moving on.

Within the study, researchers looked at the levels of 16 metals in 30 types of tampons from 14 different brands in different geographical areas (US vs. EU/UK), both organic and non-organic. While the researchers did not share the names of the 14 brands, I'd guess that we'd be right to assume which brands were likely included. 

Ultimately, the study found that metals were present in all types of tampons tested. 

If you're thinking, "I'll switch to organic cotton tampons, surely they performed better." You're wrong. While lead was found in higher concentrations in regular tampons, concentrations of arsenic were higher in organic tampons. The literal embodiment of pick your poison.

This seems alarming given these products are going into vaginas everywhere about once per month for the vast majority of most women's living years. In fact, it is estimated that 50–80% of those who menstruate use tampons. 

In a summary by UC Berkeley, the institution where the study was led, the author notes that: "Metals have been found to increase the risk of dementia, infertility, diabetes, and cancer. They can damage the liver, kidneys, and brain, as well as the cardiovascular, nervous, and endocrine systems. In addition, metals can harm maternal health and fetal development."

Like most of us, the team conducting the study is concerned about their findings but notes that additional research must be done to confirm the overall effects. 

Sure, I've seen some women posting about it, but overall, this has been second-tier news since its release. With the news cycle we've seen this week alone, it'll undoubtedly fall off the map in no time. Why is this not a larger conversation? 

Canadian OB/GYN, pain medicine physician, and two-time NY Times best-selling author expert Dr. Jen Gunter, however, did take to social media shortly after the study's release to share her expertise with followers. Her take is that the findings aren't cause for concern. She says that the metals are likely coming from the soil in which the cotton plant is grown and that other healthy plants like kale and green tea have also been found to have metal in them, and in much higher concentrations. This is a glimmer of hope, biologically speaking. 

But if we shouldn't be alarmed by the findings, what we absolutely should be alarmed and infuriated by is the lack of research on women's health. 

Modern tampons were created in the 1930s and became mainstream in the 1960s. For over 60 years, women have been regularly inserting something into their bodies, and there has not been a single large-scale study on what is in said product? 

According to a Vox piece about the history of tampons, "a PubMed search for "menstrual blood" turned up just 400 citations over the last several decades, compared with 10,000 for erectile dysfunction." 

That's what we should be outraged about. Why is it that women's health is consistently overlooked in healthcare and research? Half of the population is getting a minuscule amount of research, attention, funding – the list goes on. Even when women's health is researched, the findings seem to be inconclusive. 

Perhaps the most concerning part of Dr. Gunter's analysis is the bit about the efficacy of the study: "[T]he extraction method in the study is not how tampons are used (your vagina doesn't douse them in nitric acid and bake them at 180 C for over an hour)...So we don't know if the arsenic, lead, and cadmium in tampons can even get into the vagina, [nevermind] be absorbed." 

This is the bit that should make us truly mad – not because of the fact that metals were found, but because the method they used isn't even adjacent to how the body would interact with the product. While experts may argue one way or the other, as a consumer, this is disappointing to me. We've waited all of this time to understand that there may be metals impacting several of our body's systems and central organs, but we're not sure if they will even impact anything. Let's wait another 30 years to find out perhaps the most crucial bit of information. 

Tampons are intended for use in the body, so the primary understanding we need is the impact their composition may have on said body. The fact that they contain metals is irrelevant if we don't know what the impact is. Dr. Gunter is right—for all we know, it could be just clickbait—and let's hope it is. 

Given that the information isn't comprehensive or realistic, the outrage can and should be shifted away from the findings and toward funding. Those funding research need to take women's health more seriously on several levels, including financially. Otherwise, we will continue to see women suffer, with many conditions described as "unexplained," when in reality, they could be caused by very explainable aspects, like our tampons. 

While the verdict on the findings is still out, it begs the question of whether we will truly get the facts and when they will come. All the while, we continue to have periods and continue to rely on products that might just be killing us from the inside out. 

Aleah Balas is freelance writer.