A French activist and health-worker collective says it has received more than 10,000 accounts from people reporting menstrual changes after exposure to tear gas during recent protests. The reports have prompted calls for more research and greater scrutiny of police use of the chemical irritant, but they do not establish that tear gas caused the symptoms.
Lacrymos du sang plans to publish its findings on November 17. Some contributors describe unusually painful periods, pelvic pain or heavier bleeding after exposure. The collective says it also heard from people who were not taking part in protests but were nearby when tear gas was used. France 24 reported on the accounts.
The reports echo a 2020 survey in Portland, Oregon, which included 2,200 people exposed to tear gas during Black Lives Matter protests. More than half reported cramping, increased bleeding or other health issues, according to the account of the study cited by the collective. The survey was described as the first peer-reviewed study to report a link between tear gas exposure and abnormal menstruation. Broader scientific evidence on cause and effect remains limited; Le Monde’s review of the evidence treats the health risks as a question requiring further examination.
Calls for further research
Solenne Rougeux Fernandez Garcia, a doctoral researcher in neuroendocrinology at Paris-Saclay University and a member of the collective, said the CS compound used in many tear-gas canisters breaks down into molecules that may affect thyroid function. She told France Inter that this could contribute to bleeding outside menstrual cycles in people with existing thyroid problems. The proposed mechanisms and reported symptoms require further study.
France’s police have used tear gas during protests that have taken place since September. A lawmaker from the left-wing France Unbowed party has asked the government to suspend its use while more research is conducted. The collective says its aim is not to discourage protests, but to press authorities to address possible health effects.
Clayton Ward