Menstrual Product Costs Affect Those Struggling Financially
Period Products Should Be Provided By Government
People with periods go through about 20 tampons per menstrual cycle, and one cycle a month means nearly 240 tampons a year, according to Duquesne University.
A 34 pack of Tampons costs about $8 a box, which means the average person is spending $56 a year on tampons. This doesn’t include people who have heavy flows or need medication when they are menstruating.
Although that might not seem like a lot of money to some, for others that could be the difference between buying groceries or going hungry. Menstruation products should be provided by the government. Not only could this normalize talking about periods and end period poverty, but it would also simply make dealing with menstruating easier.
Most people with uteruses menstruate, and buying pads or tampons isn’t a choice, but a necessity.
People should not have to free bleed, and that’s not typically an option. So they are often forced to either pay money or use a period product for longer than recommended and risk getting toxic shock syndrome, an infection caused by tampons being in for too long.
Periods are still a somewhat taboo topic. Someone mentions that they need a tampon, and another person cringes. Menstruating is something that about half the population does. It isn’t taboo, and if half of the population would benefit from free tampons and pads that is a lot of aid for people with periods. People shouldn’t have to decide between affording food or period products.
The school nurse’s office has pads for unexpected need only, but they don’t have much of a selection. While that may seem picky, there is a big difference in comfort and fit for different bodies.
