O. B. Tampons - the new gold - Yes an O.B. Tampon shortage

[RamboLiberal]

The recent disappearance of a popular tampon brand is really cramping the style of city women.

Drugstore shelves have been mysteriously empty of o.b. nonapplicator tampons since late fall, leaving the feminine hygiene product's devotees puzzled and peeved.

The popular product is in such short supply that eBay users are bidding up to $76 for three packs, which usually sell for just $8.79 a pack.

And loyalists are taking to blogs and Twitter to figure out where their beloved o.b. tampons might be.

-----

Johnson & Johnson, the company that makes the o.b. tampons, shed little light on the mystery, saying only that it experienced a "temporary supply interruption" that led to stores being out of stock.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/01/19/2011-01-19_tampon_hunt_mystery_as_ob_brand_cant_be_found_at_stores_leading_to_bids_on_ebay.html

Wow - that was my favorite brand back when I needed the product - I'd have been one of the ones searching far and wide though I wouldn't be bidding on ebay.

[PBS Poll-435]

1. Oh yeah....?

Staples did not have a single box of jumbo paper clips. Was told that the entire lot they had received was recalled.

Are they putting lead in my beloved jumbo paper clips?

[MorningGlow]

2. Nooooooo!

I'm going to need more soon! Dammit! x(

And what's up with all the "supply interruptions" lately? My mom wasn't able to get Brioschi for months, and there were no explanations from the company. She was freaking out--needed her agita medicine!

[kjackson227]

3. They are good. Never had any problem with leakage when...

I used them... I know, TMI, LOL!

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Like something out of a Seinfeld episode... n/t

[PBS Poll-435]

5. This thread is definitely "Sponge-worthy"

:P

[Gormy Cuss]

6. o.b. worthy?

:rofl:

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Elaine would be proud.

:rofl:

[LynneSin]

8. Wow I have about 20 boxes of that stuff in my house - should put some on ebay

I swear by OB. About 3 years ago Happy Harry's pharmacy was bought out by Walgreens here in Delaware. During the switch over alot of stuff was put on clearance including OB tampons. They had cetain packaging 50% off so I went to about 12 Happy Harry's store and bought everything I could (no limit). I have enough OBs to last me thru menopause.

But if I can make money off of them - sure why not!

[leveymg]

9. This reminds me of toilet paper shortages in the old Soviet Union.

Black market TP prices soared, as did sales of Pravda (consumers found the most fitting use). This sort of thing was long cited as an example of the undoubted advantages of the capitalist system.

But, that was before our empire collapsed, as well. I would expect more of this sort of engineered shortages and diversions outside the normal retail distribution chain.

[Silent3]

32. The parallel is pretty weak...

...however, when you consider this is only a shortage of one particular brand of one particular type of feminine hygiene product. It's not like the choice is either O.B. or rolled-up scraps of USA Today. :)

[monmouth]

10. Elaine Benes came immediately to mind...n/t

[peace13]

11. temporary shortage while our Factory in China gets up to speed?

OB is a great product but if I were using them now I would look into this 'shortage'. A red flag here.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

12. Buy applicator brand tampon, discard applicator, ... , profit?

Why not just discard the applicator and then use the bare tampon however they wish?

[Poll_Blind]

13. As a single male tampon hoarder I feel the tables have been turned on my critics.

Oh, somebody had to say it!

Anyway, how do we know this isn't the result of a stop-ship because of some defect (etc.) discovered in the product?

I, just last week, was reading about a whistleblower who was paid by a pharmaceutical company to covertly purchase all the bottles of a particular over the counter pinkiller (IIRC) from a certain lot so the company would not have to announce a recall. The purchaser called bullshit, turned the documents he'd been sent by the company over to the government and they went after the company.

This was just a few weeks ago I read this story but sadly cannot remember anything enough to find the link.

PB

[DeschutesRiver]

16. My first thought was defect, too; I also googled the story you remembered, wow.

Johnson and Johnson did a "soft market recall", which meant sending contractors out to buy up all they could find on shelves. They claim the FDA agreed to it; the FDA says the government had no part in it. The House committee investigating this is trying to get to the bottom of it.

I'm glad you mentioned it - I hadn't heard of the secret recall before, and am still mulling over the fact that they'd refuse to do a formal recall of a tainted product.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68K5K020100922

[Poll_Blind]

17. THANK YOU! That IS the story I was talking about. Now, one has to wonder...

...how many things like this we don't get wind of?

PB

[DeschutesRiver]

26. You are welcome:) From all that I read and keep up on, I'm thinking that

this is becoming the norm for business. I find in my own life, that almost every time I suspect there was something wrong with a product, I can google it and find out that my suspicions were correct. I have no idea how to avoid this - I try to be as careful as I can, but you can't prevent getting nicked by this kind of thing 100%.

For example, my dog had surgery early last year, and she had a unusual reaction immediately in the hours post-surgery - really scared me (she had no known sensitivies). So I googled it, and found there had been a voluntary but poorly executed recall of ketamine, and the adverse reactions included some of the things I'd seen in my dog. But it honestly never occured to me to research all the stuff the vet might use to make sure there were no darned recalls. If I'd done some pre-surgery googling, I'd have found info like this: http://vetmedicine.about.com/b/2010/01/04/ketamine-recall.htm

Similarly, I've found about human food recalls after the fact, when I'd get sick tummy, then do a google search and discover that I'd eaten some recalled item. While I can't avoid every bad thing out there, I am trying to be a ton more careful about things I eat/use in me in some way. Not too far a stretch for me, who grew up questioning everything:) But back then, it was about more socially important things than which tampon I should use, lol.

I love OB tampons; but since I can't verify why they are scarce, and because of news articles like the one you helped me find, I am going with something else until I know for sure the reasons behind the scarcity.

[Poll_Blind]

29. I just want to underscore what you said about the human food recalls.

That is really concerning to me. You have to be on the top of your game, honestly, to know about recalls considering all the different things we eat or the OTC medications we take.

PB

[ellie]

14. Check K-Marts

in low-income areas. I hit the mother load last month.

[kestrel91316]

15. The shortage of this popular item has to do with the fact that they ACTUALLY WORK,

and that they always have very low stocking levels/shelf space devoted to them probably because they are more expensive, or the manufacturer has a lower profit margin on them so won't bribe the stores quite as much to stock them at a higher level.

Sucks, but not finding the right size OB in a large package (for economy) has ALWAYS been a problem for me.

Of course, now that menopause is approaching and my periods take long vacations, this is less of an issue.

:rofl:

[RamboLiberal]

19. I remember being mad when they stopped making the Super Plus

after the toxic shock syndrome scare. They were the only ones that worked overnight for me.

[RobinA]

28. Oh Man...

tell me about this. I hoarded a box of the old toxic shockers just in case I needed to take a long trip with questionable facilities some time. I went EVERYWHERE to dig them up at the end of their reign. Still have that box, although I don't think I'll be needing it now. You have to weigh priorities - Possible death from toxic shock/probable embarrassment in the worst way known to womenkind. I'd risk death.

[pipi_k]

33. Hypochondriac that I am....

I stopped using all tampons during that TSS scare back in the 80s.

Not that it mattered anyway...some days were so heavy that even superduper plus plus tampons ended up leaking.

During the "flooding" days of perimenopause, I ended up using heavy duty Serenity pads, and sometimes Depends for overnight.

[earth mom]

18. There could be something wrong with the product that the company is not divulging.

This happened with Motrin last year, which our family uses. The recall was very hush hush and the only way I found out was months later with a google search.


J&J admits misleading U.S. Motrin recall

WASHINGTON — Already battered by a wave of product recalls, Johnson & Johnson acknowledged on Thursday it had misled consumers and U.S. regulators as it quietly removed its Motrin painkiller from the market.

Company officials underwent another grilling in Congress with the consumer giant facing a widening criminal probe and struggling to move beyond a damaging series of recalls that has pulled nearly 200 million bottles of its medicine from U.S. shelves this year, including top-selling children's medicines.

Lawmakers angrily accused the company of placing profits over the welfare of its customers, and J&J officials said their McNeil unit should have alerted stores and the Food & Drug Administration to the 2009 Motrin recall, rather than buying back the stock through contractors posing as customers.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39426120/ns/business-us_business/

[blogslut]

20. Jezebel has been all over this for weeks

New York Daily News is late to the party:

http://jezebel.com/5735675/ob-tampons-return-to-shelves

[Vickers]

21. My wife was complaining about this a few weeks ago.

Just checked the bathroom cabinet...only 6 left!

:scared:

[uppityperson]

22. Oh rats.

sorry, someone had to say it. I liked them also, wonder what's up, quality control? Maybe....terrorists are making....something out of ob tampons.....omg!

[TalkingDog]

23. Dioxin laden tampons worth 70.00+?? I don't think so.

While I "get" the whole non-applicator thing as it relates to the environment... How is it the same women can put BLEACHED (read: chemical and dioxin laden) material into the one of the most permeable and blood supply intensive areas of the body? Think it through much?

[JVS]

24. DU archives to the rescue

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2335135#2335135

[jberryhill]

25. The supply line is all clogged up with something

[LiberalEsto]

27. Johnson & Johnson has been having a LOT of recalls

Tylenol, Rolaids and a number of their other products. They make O.B., so maybe there's a problem with that too.

[xor]

30. My plan is on track and working as hoped. MUUUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *breathe* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *breathe* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA *gasp*

[New Earth]

31. they're all gone here too :(

I've been using them since day 1, and so have my mom and sister.

I really HATE applicator tampons but I'm stuck with them for now. Hope they get this all settled soon :/

[MountainLaurel]

34. I suddenly feel rich

I had been stocking up for a while because I was having heavy periods every 3 weeks. Then my doctor put me on the Pill formulation where you only bleed once every 3 months, so now I've got tampons everywhere.

[Kalyke]

35. What is so great about them?

I never like applicator-less tampons. Ewwwww!

[TorchTheWitch]

39. I never liked the idea either

I have small fingers and could never get them inserted high enough, and trying to struggle into your clothes again with a bloody finger or not being able to wash germs off your hands before inserting one is really eeeewwwwwww. I also have a narrow vagina and the flaring of them made them hurt particularly on the way out. Hated everything about them.

[Kalyke]

40. I have the "flaring" trouble with many brands.

Understood completely!

[TorchTheWitch]

36. I always hated them n/t

[marmar]

37. Really "cramping" the style? The NY Daily News has always been a classless fishwrap.

nt

[madokie]

38. Sure glad I don't need them, I'm past menopause

and yes I'm a dude :-). Men go through a change similar to what women do and lucky for me my wife and I pretty much went though it at the same time. Once and its done with. I was flapping the sheets just like she was.