NEW YORK, Jan. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For the first time since its conception, the Charmin Restrooms were open on New Years Eve from 12am to 2am, offering the crowd of millions in Times Square a safe and clean bathroom haven after the 2009 ball dropped.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090101/LATH902)

The millions who attended the New Year's Eve ball drop were asked by police to stay in their designated area starting at 3 PM. The city does not provide potable public restrooms for the festivities and nearby bars and restaurants limit their facilities to customers only and often close early in the evening. Due to the confined situation, some tourists have admitted to wearing diapers to the event, while others have resorted to using bottles to relieve themselves.

Charmin chose to open their 20 restrooms to offer relief to the many individuals and families who had been waiting for hours to see the ball drop.

"We hope to continue providing this gift to tourists and New Yorkers because we know how difficult it is to find a public restroom in the heart of the busiest city in the world during New Years Eve," stated Jacques Hagopian, brand manager for Charmin.

More than one million consumers worldwide have experienced the 20 deluxe, ADA compliant, family-friendly public restrooms that are free and fully staffed with attendants to clean each stall after every use. Additional luxuries include baby changing stations, stroller parking, seating areas, flat screen televisions, Charmin retail boutique, and new family photo area equipped with printing station. The Charmin Restrooms are located at 1540 Broadway in Times Square between west 45th and west 46th streets.

About Charmin

Charmin has been America's most popular bath tissue for more than 25 years. In the U.S., P&G offers Charmin Ultra Soft and Charmin Ultra Strong -- super premium two-ply tissues; Charmin Basic -- a one-ply tissue; Charmin Plus with lotion with aloe; and Charmin Freshmates -- adult flushable moist wipes. P&G also sells Charmin in Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico. For more information on Charmin, visit http://www.charmin.com/ .

About Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella(R), Gillette(R), and Braun(R). The P&G community consists of over 135,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

SOURCE Procter & Gamble