APPENDIX III
WHY SCENTS DON’T MAKE SENSE
Many people think personal products with pleasant smells are made from flowers. While this was true years ago, today these products are made from petroleum. This creates potential health problems for people who use scented products. It also creates serious health problems for people in the general population who are much more sensitive to scented products and become ill from them.
DID YOU KNOW THAT:
1.The National Academy of Sciences, a research branch of the United States Government, has designated scented products as toxic to the brain? The AMA, EPA and American Lung Association recognize that scented products can aggravate asthma and respiratory problems?
2.Petrochemical compounds, including scented products, can enter the body through the skin?
3.At least one person in five becomes ill when exposed to scented products worn by others?
4.Illness reactions induced by scented products can cause migraine headaches, sinus congestion, itchy watery eyes, sore throat, hoarseness, and asthma reaction?
5.Many scented products contain chemicals that are designed to affect your mood, meaning that they are designed to change the chemical balance in the brain? Scented products can also cause brain changes such as reduced ability to concentrate, reduced ability to maintain your attention, reduced ability to think clearly especially about more complex thoughts, and/or reduced ability to remember?
6.Scented hair sprays, colognes, deodorants, and other products can cling to the hair and clothing for many hours, causing illness reactions hours later?
7.Fabric softener is designed to cling to clothing, flakes off during the day, and irritates the airway of people with allergies, congested nose, sinus problems, cough, hoarseness, and/or asthma?
8.Scented products are the only products made in the United States of America where the manufacturer is not required to disclose even to your doctor the trade secret ingredients, even if the doctor feels it is causing illness?
9.“Air fresheners” do not freshen air, (fresh air has no odor), since releasing a chemical into air to cover up an odor does NOT “freshen” that air, making the term “air freshener” a false and misleading term?
10.The Fragrance Association advises that scented products only be used in an amount undetectable at an arm’s length distance.
11.Research shows that the vast majority of people with asthma have allergic reactions and a decline in lung function with synthetic scent exposure (American Academy of Allergy,
Asthma, Immunology).
HOW TO MAKE SENSE WITH SCENTS:
Avoid using scented products when you are in a public situation where you may encounter or be near individuals who are more sensitive to them. If you are in a crowd wearing scented products, you probably will be causing illness reactions in some people without knowing it. Use scented products only when you are in a small group of individuals that you know well when no one has a problem with the scented products. Let manufacturers of scented products know that you want healthy cosmetics, healthy personal products, and healthy ways of controlling nuisance odors. Read the ingredients: this applies to shampoos, conditioners, hair sprays and gels, lotions, cremes, deodorants, soap, laundry detergent, fabric softener.