There’s A New Tampon In Town, And We’re Not Too Sure About It

It’s believed that tampons have been used in some form since around the 15th century BC, but it wasn’t until 1929 that Dr. Earle Haas invented the modern tampon.

He apparently heard from a female friend that she inserted a piece of sponge into her vagina instead of using bulky pads that were used by most women, and so got the idea to create a new product.

Haas put the words ‘vaginal packs’ and ‘tampon’ (which comes from the French ‘tampion’ - a piece of cloth to stop a hole) together to create the word Tampax which he trademarked in 1933, according the The Atlantic.

Since then, not much has changed in the design of the tampon – it features a tube within a tube and a string.

Now, a new British brand called Callaly want to make some changes, by introducing the Tampliner.

It’s a tampon and a panty liner in one (hence the name) and you push the tampon into your vagina through the liner.

See the handy instruction video here.

When it’s time to take it out, pulling on the string will bring the tampon out into a covered sheath between the tampon and the liner.

READ MORE: The Debrief Investigates the Effect Of The Pill On Mental Health

This all looks peachy, but is this just another marketing ploy aimed at making women buy things they don’t need? See: douchebags.

Tampons definitely aren’t perfect – they can be a bit messy, a little uncomfortable and sometimes do let us down, but at £8 for 16 tampliners – are we being duped?

Women already pay VAT of 5% on sanitary products and will spend around £18,000 on tampons in their lifetime. You can calculate how much you’ll spend using this BBC tool.

Tampliners were created by a male gynaecologist, and are only available via a subscription service which you can tailor based on your flow and cycle.

‘Over the decades of treating my patients I heard repeated stories about the inadequacy of their period products,’ co-founder Alex Hooi explains.

‘So many women who wore tampons didn’t trust them and wore liners at the same time, so I decided to invent something better.

‘I hope that all people with periods will be excited to see another product available, that might be right for them and even if it is not be glad that there is now more choice for women in an area that desperately needed innovation.’

Anything that makes periods better is more than welcome, but we’d be wary of calling this a life-changing innovation.

WATCH NOW: What Happens To Your Body When You Come Off The Pill

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.