Two weeks ago, a TikToker named Rachel Morgan sparked fear and outrage amongst millions of women after sharing that her go-to tampon company uses Titanium Dioxide in its products.
Rachel explained how she learned about the Titanium dioxide tampon contents from another woman on the platform who cited experiencing severe cramping, ovarian cysts, and was being checked for cancer after using the product.
Then, after looking into titanium dioxide, Rachel claimed it is cancer-causing.
Titanium dioxide, also known as TiO2, is a naturally occurring mineral that is made up of titanium and oxygen.
The mineral is used in a plethora of consumer-grade products, including paints, adhesives, plastics, cosmetics, toothpaste, and chewing gum.
However, the TikTok has since been flagged as containing unverified information, and medical professionals have begun speaking out on the topic.
Dr. Karen Tang, a leader in women’s health and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery (MGIS) in the U.S., posted videos on both TikTok and YouTube to help put the public at ease.
Dr. Tang explained how after consulting with a Ph.D. toxicologist who formerly ran clinical trials for women’s health care products with the FDA, she learned that titanium dioxide is very minimally used in tampons.
YouTube; pictured above is Dr. Tang in her video
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In fact, according to L. Organic’s FAQ page on its website, titanium dioxide represents less than 0.1 percent of the ingredients used in tampons and is only present in the tampon string– which is not meant to touch or go inside the human body.
Moreover, the FDA has categorized titanium dioxide as an ingredient that is “generally recognized as safe,” and Dr. Tang said that the “regular” mineral has never been found to result in adverse health outcomes.
Instead, she explained how any source that links titanium dioxide to reproductive issues refers to nanoparticle titanium dioxide– which is a very different compound.
Still, some fearful community members have pointed to the European Commission’s recent ban on titanium dioxide as a cause for concern.
The EU banned the mineral as a food additive after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) “could not rule out a concern for genotoxicity from ingestion of the material based on a perceived gap in data on the risk,” according to a USDA and GAIN press release.
This lack of research prompted Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz, another women’s health expert, to caution women against putting products near or inside their bodies that have not been extensively studied.
“I don’t want to alarm, but I think people should be conscious of what they are putting in and on their bodies,” she said in an interview with The Washington Post. “It is kind of offensive to imply that we shouldn’t be asking questions…”
Nonetheless, Dr. Gilberg-Lenz is not advising women to discontinue all tampon use. Instead, she is advocating for further research of the commonly-used mineral since, to date, no conclusive evidence has been verified.
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