several months. Toilet paper has been one of the commodities subject to shortages in Venezuela starting in the 2010s; the government seized one toilet paper factory in a failed effort to resolve the problem. During the COVID-19 pandemic, toilet paper shortages were reported in March 2020 in multiple countries due to hoarding and panic buying. At first, few believed the pandemic would be serious. Later, people realized they might need to stock up on certain items in case of a shelter-in-place order, or in case they did not know how long such an order would last; suppliers could not assure that they could keep up with demand. However, manufacturers continued to produce even more than they had before. Demand was higher for the types of toilet paper used at home because so many people were at home who would have used toilet paper away from home. In some countries the bidet was already seen as a solution, and a survey before the pandemic had indicated an increasing number of Americans would be interested. In 2022, British toilet paper packaging started displaying bowel cancer symptoms following campaigning from blogger and journalist Deborah James, who later died from the disease in June 2022. Andrex were the first brand to take the lead on the matter, then various supermarkets followed suit. Description Toilet paper is available in several types of paper, a variety of patterns, decorations, and textures, and it may be moistened or perfumed, although fragrances sometimes cause problems for users who are allergic to perfumes. The average measures of a modern roll of toilet paper is c. 10 cm (3 in.) wide, and 12 cm (4 in.) in diameter, and weighs about 227 grams (8 oz.). An alternative method of packing the sheets uses interleaved sheets in boxes, or in bulk for use in dispensers. "Hard" single-ply paper has been used as well as soft multi-ply. Sheet size Manufactured toilet paper sheet in the United States was sized × . Since 1999 the size of a sheet has been shrinking; Kimberly-Clark reduced the length of a sheet to . Scott, in 2006, reduced the length of their product to . The width of sheets was later reduced giving a general sheet size of long and wide. Larger sizes remain available. Sheet ply The ply of a toilet paper refers to the number of layers per sheet. Rolls are typically available in