Guardian - "Why smelling good could come with a cost to health" May 2019

[Sly Saint]

About 4,000 chemicals are currently used to scent products, but you won’t find any of them listed on a label. Fragrance formulations are considered a “trade secret” and therefore protected from disclosure – even to regulators or manufacturers. Instead, one word, fragrance, appears on ingredients lists for countless cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products. A single scent may contain anywhere from 50 to 300 distinct chemicals.

Three-quarters of the toxic chemicals detected in a test of 140 products came from fragrance, reported a 2018 BCPP study of personal care and cleaning brands. The chemicals identified were linked to chronic health issues, including cancer.

Besides common reactions to fragrance – about 35% of people report migraines or respiratory problems because of fragrance – health advocates have more serious concerns. Could fragrance chemicals, combined with the other chemical cocktails found in daily life, be shaping serious disease trends?

More than 1,200 fragrance chemicals currently in use have been flagged as potential or known “chemicals of concern”, according to a 2018 report from WVE. These include seven carcinogens, 15 chemicals prohibited from use in cosmetics in the EU and others cited in various international warning lists. Endocrine disrupters, which mimic human hormones, are of particular concern to many researchers and advocates, as they can have effects in the tiniest doses.

full article here
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...fume-personal-cleaning-products-health-issues

 

[James Morris-Lent]

The absurd part of this is that most fragrances smell awful. If you really want to smell good, why don't you slather yourself with something everybody likes, like pizza, bacon, gyros, or butter chicken?

 

[Mij]

I prefer the scent of being clean.

 

[Mij]

The absurd part of this is that most fragrances smell awful. If you really want to smell good, why don't you slather yourself with something everybody likes, like pizza, bacon, gyros, or butter chicken?

Ok, if you want the neighbourhood pets chasing after you.

 

[Judee]

The absurd part of this is that most fragrances smell awful.

But people that use them don't realize that. It's like a cigarette smoker. They can't smell what it's like until they stop and then they hate the smell of cigarette smoke.

I used to have a dresser top loaded with fragrances. I didn't realize how much they stunk not even after a school friend said my new jasmine perfume smelled like bug spray. I realized she was right and stopped using that one but still went on and used the others for years afterward not realizing.

The article did not mention that some of those chemicals are meant to addict (that was me) and some of them are meant to extend the life of the fragrance, I would say, into eternity.

I especially feel sorry for the children and pets of fragrance addicted individuals because they have no choice in the matter and can have chemical sensitivities as well.

I had eliminated all fragrance but still used a tablet type dish washing machine tablet that smelled until I noticed my cat would get bags under his eyes every time I used it. Poor kitty.

I'm sure my sister's cat had migraines because of fragrance in their house. She constantly squinted like the light was too bright and she was always vomiting until she weighed almost nothing. Poor kitty.

**Just a note that essential oils can also be toxic to kitties.