Do tampons really expire?

[MoltenMountain]

Noticed an expiry date on the packet today (2014!) . I rarely have periods as I've been on the pill for years.
Do I really need to throw and replace? How does a tampon go out of date?

I'd ignore it. If they're still sealed they're fine.

I remember DM saving her old collection of tampons etc when she went through the menopause, and then handed them to me when I started my periods at least 5 years later. It didn't occur to either of us that they could expire, and my fanjo remained intact.

I expect it's more to do with guaranteeing the integrity of the packaging. I would definitely use them!

Give the string a pull before using to check it's secure