Law: A Verdict on Tampons

But the impact on toxic-shock cases is unclear

When Procter & Gamble put its first tampon product into national distribution, the ads boasted, "It even absorbs the worry." But Rely tampons soon provoked frantic worry. In 1980 the federal Centers for Disease Control tied tampons to an outbreak of rare—sometimes fatal—toxic-shock syndrome. One study of a group of TSS sufferers found that 71% of them used Rely. Though the product had captured 20% of the market, the company recalled it. Then came the lawsuits—400 against Procter & Gamble, 100 or so against four other...