Social worker demands ban on plastic containing sanitary pads, cites cancer risk

A social worker in Champawat district of Uttarakhand Friday demanded a ban on plastic containing sanitary pads being distributed under the state-run Adolescent Hygiene Program, claiming that such pads were causing uterine cancer besides skin diseases among women. Rita Gehtori, the winner of Tilu Rauteli award for social work, said village women who are often out in the field to fetch water or fodder from distant areas are at most risk.

"I have been told by doctors that using such sanitary pads being distributed by the government under the Adolescent Hygiene Program in villages may cause skin diseases. Wearing them also runs the risk of developing uterine cancer in case of negligence," she said. The social worker, who sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard, also requested sanitary pad manufacturing companies to introduce clothes containing such pads instead of plastic.

Champawat's chief medical superintendent Manjit Singh seconded Gehtori's concerns. He said sanitary pads availed under the Adolescent Hygiene Program by the central government contain plastic that might cause itching in private parts and develop into cancer in the long run. "These plastic containing sanitary pads should be replaced with threads for safety reasons," Singh added.