(NewsNation) — Kentucky is the latest state to introduce legislation to eliminate the sales tax on menstrual products, but people in 21 states still have to pay a tax on products like pads and tampons, making them more expensive.
Data shows period products cost an average of $20 per month, costing people who menstruate between $200 and $300 a year. Over a lifetime, that can add up to an average of around $6,000, and those numbers are from data collected before recent inflation.
While there are cheaper products, like reusable pads, period underwear, and menstrual cups, those are less popular than disposable products, and the higher up-front cost may put them out of the reach of many women.
The cost of period products has led 24 states with sales tax to pass legislation eliminating that tax from menstrual products the same way sales tax isn’t charged for other essential goods, like food.
Advocates for the practice see it as a matter of public health, noting that using period products isn’t optional. If people can’t afford the cost of products, they may try to use them for longer than recommended, increasing the risk of complications like toxic shock syndrome, which can be deadly.
Women who can’t afford menstrual products may also have to skip school or work, unable to leave their homes due to hygiene concerns.
Some manufacturers have taken matters into their own hands, offering rebates for consumers who live in states where sales tax is still applied to the products.
Red states like Kentucky are joining the trend, with Texas also passing a law to eliminate sales tax on period products in September 2023. The Texas bill also removes sales tax on other essentials, including diapers, baby wipes and bottles.
In some states, schools have also worked to provide menstrual products free to students to reduce cost and remove the stigma around periods.
But not everyone is on board. Idaho Republicans blocked an effort to provide period products in schools, calling the effort too “woke,” and Florida attempted to pass a law that would have banned young girls from even discussing periods.
But with states like Kentucky, where one of the bills to cut the tampon tax has been introduced by a Republican, joining the trend, advocates are hoping that more states will move to recognize that period products are essential goods and work to make them more accessible.