Box of 4 "New Slender" Tampax tampons, regular

Box of 4 "New Slender" Tampax tampons, Regular, with the biodegradable applicator, 29 cent trial package, Tampax Incorporated, Palmer, Massachusetts, 1979-1980

Tampax, developed by Colorado-based GP Earle Haas in 1931, was one of the first menstrual tampons (similar devices were previously used as contraceptives or for medical purposes). It consisted of a cylinder of compressed cotton with a string for easy removal, inserted via two telescoping cardboard tubes to avoid the need for users to touch it – or their genitals – directly. The product, a portmanteau of ‘tampon’ and ‘vaginal packs’, hit the shelves in 1936. A magazine advertisement from July that year invited readers to “Welcome this new day for womanhood”.

The first Tampax were sold in packs of 10, which the company considered “an average month’s supply”. In 1939, the company introduced Super and Junior sizes alongside its Regular product. The slender edition launched in 1979 was designed “especially for first-time tampon users”. Thinner than normal tampons, it featured a rounded tip and was made from a more absorbent material.

Standardised absorbency testing was introduced in the 1980s after higher absorbency tampons were shown to be associated with an increased risk of developing toxic shock syndrome (TSS), a rare but life-threatening condition caused by bacterial infection.