To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he has any evidence as to whether women are at risk of contracting toxic shock syndrome through using tampons;(2) whether his Department has evidence to confirm or deny the United States Federal Drugs Agency's list assessment of contracting toxic shock syndrome at one to 17 per 100,000 women and that there is a risk of death.

Information received from the public health laboratory service (PHLS) suggests that in recent years there has been on average one death per year from toxic shock syndrome (TSS) associated with tampon use in the United Kingdom. The public health laboratory service intends to publish data on the incidence of toxic shock syndrome shortly—which will include data on tampon-related toxic shock syndrome.