Fragrance, Perfumes And Health

Quite a long time ago I published an article entitled fragrance - is it natural? on my Health web site. At the time I received this email from Peter Drew (Connecticut, USA). It disappeared in my Inbox (sometimes it's like a black hole!), but I've now located it again and thought I'd like to share what he says with you:

Thank you for publishing your article on fragrances,highlighting the fact that most of them are man-made chemicals.

From my understanding of the situation, it's not even so much the artificial scents that are the real culprits in perfumes. It's the volatile organic compounds used to waft the fragrance into the air and make it stick to virtually everything with which it makes contact. Things like benzene, xylene,formaldehyde, toluene -- lots of "enes" that cause cancer and neurological problems.

I spoke with a pyschopharmacologist regarding this topic and, as an expert in brain toxins, he said that if it were up to him, fragranced products, especially perfumes and colognes would be banned from the work place. He cited studies that indicate perfume in the office reduces productivity by about 10 percent,lung capacity in normal people by 15 percent, and in people with compromised lungs, e.g. asthma, it can reduce lung capacity by up to 50 percent. The doct old me these scents are designed to affect a person's brain and not in a productive way.

Recently, I also discovered that the chemists are creating molecular "hooks" in fragrances, so they stick to everything. The idea is to make perfume or cologne long-lasting, so that it doesn't need to be re-applied during the day or evening. Old-style,perfumes, nothing but essential oils and alcohol, used to wear off after a couple of hours and would need to be re-applied. Now people can apply it once and it lasts for hour upon hour, and, worst of all, it sticks to everything, including food, chairs, drinking containers, etc. There's nothing like ordering a beverage, only to smell and taste someone's stinky perfume coming from the container or glass. Mmmm-mmm!

Oh, and don't get me started on scented candles!

Sorry for the rant. Just wanted to pass along a few things I've learned about the onslaught of fragrances in Western countries. As my wife said this past week,"When did artificial become the new natural?"