Why was 'awful' school toilet paper a bestseller for so long?

If you were born before 1980 you will probably remember Izal medicated toilet paper, a staple of schools, hospitals and many households. Hard, shiny, barely absorbent, and smelling of disinfectant – even some of those who sold it agreed it was "awful". So why was it a bestseller for so long? Writer and broadcaster Adrian Chiles, who was born in 1967, still remembers using Izal toilet paper both at home and at school. "It seemed normal to me until I noticed the other kids didn't like going to the toilet because they couldn't deal with the toilet paper," he says. He has no idea why his mum bought it but says he still has a fondness for it. "I'd love to have a pack of it now just for nostalgia's sake. "I'm fully aware of its many limitations but I used it until I was 7 or 8." Izal medicated toilet paper was invented by a coal-processing company in Sheffield called Newton, Chambers & Co Ltd. "The story is that workers at the coke ovens were getting some of the tar on their hands and arms, and they noticed their cuts and abrasions were healing very quickly," Sheffield historian Joan Jones told the podcast Toast, which examines successful brands that still eventually failed. "So the firm