Why smelling good could come with a cost to health
The Guardian
by Lauren Zanolli
…“There are chemicals in fragrances that do cause [cancer and reproductive effects], we know this from animal studies,” says Alexandra Scranton, director of Science and Research for Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), a women’s health not-for-profit. “Do people who use a lot of fragrance get more cancer than those who don’t? No one really knows because no one has looked at that.”
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…
I live in a retirement community and one woman wears a very strong “fragrance” that, after 3 years has become toxic to me Whatever it is stays in the elevator, hallway or room long after she is gone.. When she is in the dining room I sit as far away as possible, but almost always the smell drifts over to me, and my larynx tightens up and I become hoarse . For me this is the beginning of asthma, according to my allergist. Even if I leave after a few minutes, I will be hoarse for over an hour. If I stay I might fight myself in an asthma exacerbation.