No, Tampax Has Not Changed the Size of Their Tampons

Tampon brand Tampax has not shrunk the size of their menstrual products, the brand confirms to PEOPLE after a TikTok video has racked up millions of views claiming the opposite.

In the video from April, which currently has 2.4 million views, user Melissa Simonson claims that the sizes that the brand advertises are no longer accurate “because you shrunk them." Simonson makes videos about marketing on her TikTok page, which has 24.9K followers.

Users on Reddit have also accused the brand of shrinking their sizes and packaging. One Reddit post includes a photo that compared two, regular-sized Tampax Pearl tampons (Simonson also includes this image in her TikTok video).

A spokesperson at Procter & Gamble, Tampax's parent company tells PEOPLE in a statement, however, that the brand has not changed the size of its tampons.

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"Tampons are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and adhere to industry absorbency or size ranges as listed on the side of each package," the spokesperson says. "The FDA absorbency ranges have not changed since its introduction more than 30 years ago."

According to the Federal Register, the official journal of the federal government, in 1989, the FDA published a rule amending tampon labeling regulation which standardized the absorbency terms and sizes. They are: junior (less that 6 grams of fluid), regular (6-9 grams of fluid), super (9-12 grams of fluid) and super plus (12-15 grams of fluid). An ultra tampon absorbency size (15-19 grams of fluid) was added in 2000, and junior was re-labeled as light in 2004.

Per the 2004 rule document, the "FDA requires standardized terms to be used for the labeling of a menstrual tampon to indicate its particular absorbency. This rule enables women to compare the absorbency of one brand and style of tampons with the absorbency of other brands and styles."

Tampax manufactures Tampax Pearl, Tampax Radiant, Tampax Pocket Radiant, cardboard and pure cotton tampons.

The tampon rumor comes as many American consumers are concerned about a trend commonly known as “shrinkflation." The New York Times recently reported that shrinkflation contributed to price increases on candy and cleaning products between 2019 and 2023. 

The problem has become so rampant that President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass a bill addressing this issue. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) in March, the White House called out corporations that “raise their prices to pad their profits – charging you more and more for less and less.”

Menstrual products are also taxed in 20 states as of March 2024, according to Alliance for Period Supplies. Many Americans experience period poverty, which is a term used to describe limited or inadequate access to menstrual products or menstrual health education.

According to Tampax's website, the company has donated over 11 million tampons via their partnerships with organizations like Feeding America and Matthew 25: Ministries to help combat period poverty.