Fake sanitary napkins pose disease-threat to Vietnamese women

By Bui Hong Nhung   August 1, 2016 | 08:04 pm PT
Unscrupulous sellers can make a killing on these counterfeit products.

Despite threats to consumer health, many producers and traders are still supplying packs of fake sanitary napkins, Vietnam's national television broadcaster reported.

Although production is relatively simple and uses mainly waste cotton, counterfeit sanitary napkins still sell well in the country's rural regions.

“People living in the countryside have a high resistance [to diseases], so it’s common for them to use them [fake napkins],” said a producer from Thuan Thanh District in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

fake-sanitary-napkins-pose-disease-threat-to-vietnamese-women

Couterfeit sanitary napkins (L) and real ones (R).

The factory price for each pack is VND1,000 ($0.05) but sales agents often offer them for VND2,000-3,000. When they reach consumers, the charge has jumped more than tenfold to about VND12,000.

“These products are highly profitable, even higher than Diana’s products (a popular brand of sanitary napkins in Vietnam),” said a saleswoman in the northern province of Phu Tho.

Doctor Le Thi Kim Dung, head of the Nursing and Midwifery Health Office in Hanoi, said that using fake napkins can lead to numerous diseases and even cancer if the products are not carefully packaged, causing mold to grow.

 
 
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