Dear Legislator,

Menstrual products are a necessity for menstruators. However, there are people who struggle to afford basic necessities including menstrual products. Not being able to afford menstrual products hinders a menstruator’s progress both academically and professionally. No one should have to make a choice between having food to eat for the night over having sanitary products.

At this current time, menstrual products are considered a luxury item and as a result, have a tax imposed on them. This is commonly known as the “tampon tax”. This presents a barrier to all menstruators, not just low-income ones. While there has been progress in eliminating this tax, the work is not over as there are still 32 states that impose this tax, including North Carolina. North Carolina has a sales tax of 4.75% and local cities and counties can add another 2-3%, which further raises the prices of these menstrual products. A period cycle usually lasts three to seven days and the average menstruator uses around 20 tampons per cycle, bringing the total to 240 tampons a year. One box of 40 tampons costs roughly $10 and if each menstruator buys 6 boxes of tampons a year that brings the cost to $60 plus $4.20 in sales tax. Over the course of their period, they will have to spend at least $2,100 on tampons alone. In addition to buying menstrual products, menstruators also need to consider period care products such as Advil, ibuprofen, etc. Advil costs about $12-$13 per bottle, and knowing that some menstruators take about three per day for around three days each month, they’ll need to buy 18 bottles which brings the cost of Advil to $216, which may not seem like much, but it can still create a financial strain in the long run. It’s clear that the total cost of a menstruator’s period can affect her decision making in how she wants to spend her money.

This poses a myriad of issues for menstruators who do not have the financial capacity to buy these items as well as other essentials. Even today, in America, there are menstruators who resort to unsanitary and even dangerous methods to take care of themselves during menstruation. These include using rags and toilet paper as substitutes for products such as pads and tampons. This increases the risk of contracting dangerous infections such as toxic shock syndrome. By having tampons and pads in public restrooms these life-threatening diseases can be alleviated and help menstruators have a much more comfortable period.

In writing this, we ask that the tampon tax be eliminated from the state of North Carolina. By enforcing this tax, a huge portion of the population is disadvantaged. There are still so many people in North Carolina who experience period poverty and the removal of the tampon tax would be greatly beneficial for them. Let’s work together in the fight for menstrual equity and end the tampon tax.

Sincerely,
Catherine Guo, Student at Wake Forest University
Prerna Dash, President of PERIOD chapter PERIOD @ Cary, NC