HC Deb 17 February 1983 vol 37 cc236-7W
Mr. Chapman

asked the Minister for Trade w hat has been the outcome of the monitoring by the Director General of Fair Trading of the market for tampons, as recommended by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in its report of October 1980.

Dr. Vaughan

In reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet, the then Minister for Consumer Affairs announced on 4 February 1981 that the Director General of Fair Trading would, in accordance with the recommendation of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in its report on the supply of tampons, monitor developments in the tampon market for a period of two years.

The Director General considers that there is still uncertainty about the longer term competitive conditions in the tampon market. In particular, there have been recent new entrants to the digital tampon sector. In order to assess the effect on competition of these developments, the Director General will monitor the market for a further year.