Tampax Pearl Lawsuit Claims Tampons Contain Dangerous Amounts of Lead

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Procter & Gamble has failed to warn consumers that Tampax Pearl tampons contain dangerous amounts of lead.

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The 23-page Tampax lawsuit contends that reasonable consumers are led to believe the tampons are safe and free from hazardous substances because there is no warning on product packaging about the presence of lead. Per the filing, lead exposure can cause severe health conditions such as reduced neurological function, anemia, organ damage, seizures and even coma and death.

According to the fraud suit, the undisclosed lead is “particularly detrimental” to users because the tampons are intended to be inserted vaginally, which allows the lead to be absorbed directly into the bloodstream. 

Per the complaint, independent lab analysis has revealed that the amount of lead found in Tampax Pearl tampons—which come in light, regular, super, super plus and ultra sizes—exceeds the 0.5-microgram (mcg) maximum allowable dose level (MADL) per day for lead established under California Prop 65 regulations.

Although testing determined that the products contain only 0.181 mcg of lead per gram—below the regulatory maximum—most consumers use multiple tampons per day, exposing them to “far more” lead than regulations allow, the filing emphasizes.

As the lawsuit tells it, consumers will use a minimum of three tampons in a 24-hour period, based on packaging instructions that state that a single tampon should be used for up to eight hours. The suit charges that by this calculation, if a consumer uses three Tampax Pearl tampons in 24 hours, they are exposed to between 0.729 mcg of lead if using a “light” size and 2.36 mcg of lead if using an “ultra” size, with the latter being nearly five times the daily MADL.

Moreover, the case argues that other representations on product packaging mislead shoppers into believing the tampons are safe to use and do not contain harmful substances. For example, the label features claims that Tampax Pearl tampons are the “#1 U.S. Gynecologist Recommended Tampon Brand” and provide “All Day* Comfort & Protection” while being free of perfume, dyes and elemental chlorine bleaching, the complaint relays.

However, the filing claims that these representations are deceptive given the unsafe amount of lead in the products.

The Tampax Pearl lawsuit looks to represent anyone in California who, in the past four years, purchased Procter & Gamble’s Tampax Pearl tampons within the state and does not claim any personal injury from using them.

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