Toxic pesticides found in UK tampons – a gynaecologist explains the health risks

Sly Saint · May 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM

If you use tampons, you likely heard the news from last year that toxic metals were found in the period products. Now, the second study in a year has found toxins in tampons – this time, it's pesticide.

Specifically, the report from the Pesticide Action Network UK (Pan UK), the Women’s Environmental Network and the Pesticide Collaboration, found that levels of glyphosate, a pesticide linked to cancer, were 40 times higher in one popular brand of tampons than levels permitted in water.

They tested 15 boxes of tampons from a mixture of brands available in the UK, though have not named the brands they tested. They say the findings 'indicates that the cotton was treated with glyphosate somewhere in the supply chain. We have no way of knowing where the cotton came from or how it was treated.'
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Many of the chemicals found in period products are known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, meaning they can alter how our body produces and regulates hormones. Long-term hormone disruption is linked with diseases including breast and ovarian cancer, infertility and autoimmune conditions,
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Currently, there is no regulation for chemicals in period products. 'Manufacturers do not have to disclose the contents or additives used in their products,' according to the report. 'The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has deemed there is no need for this regulation because there is no clear case (or interest) to justify looking at regulating period products. In short, they are not a priority. This needs to change.'
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Toxic pesticides found in UK tampons – a gynaecologist explains the health risks

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