How timely! I was just researching this very issue when I received your blog post in my in-box. The universe truly is amazing! Thanks.

Anything at all that contains "FRAGRANCE" is to be thought of as deleterious to health. IF not to your own health the very second you apply it or inhale it, do understand that it will be harmful to someone you come in contact with.

When thinking of products with fragrances added, also think of pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs. It is amazing how many of even the "safer" products that have added scent to them. Of all things!!!!

And, while you are extending your minds to include drugs and such also think of the word "FLAVORS" . . . for it is the Flavors and Fragrance Industry. And flavors are no more safe than fragrances, for they too are petrochemically derived.

And when thinking of petrochemically derived products, expand your thoughts to include the very pharmaceuticals that you take to try to feel a little better when you are really reacting to the harmful chemicals in the fragrance products that you are absorbing ingesting and inhaling everyday. Whether you use the products or not, your body is being subjected to the chemicals.

What will you come down with? I was affected by very serious chemical sensitization for years, acquired in a highly scented workplace. In 2005, after several years retirement, I was diagnosed with renal (kidney failure). Am I surprised? NO. Fragrances contain KIDNEY TOXICANTS and NEUROTOXINS THAT AFFECT THE HEART AND BLOOD PRESSURE. Then last November, following many days in scented Kaiser taking care of my hubby who had just had surgery, I developed a series of strokes. Fortunately the strokes were labeled MINOR and I've recovered remarkably well since, but they were devastating to me and my family at the time.

A word to the wise: Leave products with either word, FLAVOR or FRAGRANCE, on the store shelves. Only your pocket book will wise up the industry. Our government agencies have been more in bed with industry than they were seriously wanting to protect your health. The "revolving door" syndrome has been as alive and well in the FDA as in the EPA.

The FDA's Cosmetics Act and I came into being a month apart . . . I've changed a tremendous amount in my 71.5 years. The flavors and fragrance industry has changed a tremendous amount in its lifetime (changing drastically in the 1970s). The FDA's Cosmetic Act hasn't changed at all to protect you from what is now mainly petrochemically derived fragrances.

Do think about it. The health you save may be your own, your partner's, your child's, a friend's, a colleague's. Or, all of the above.

FINALLY one step closer to regulating AND I truly hope ELIMINATING these chemicals from ALL products. The damage that has been done and that they continue to do to everyone is astronomical. And people have no clue what they are doing to themselves, their children and everyone that they come in contact with.

Thank you Barb for your comments. I know that you have been educating and advocating this for years. I also had to take early retirement due to the life threatening reactions that I was having to fragranced fabric softener at my job. I also have lesser but serious reaction to other fragrances. The chemicals in fragranced fabric softener cause my blood pressure to shoot up to 210/110 and even higher on occasion, my pulse will increase to 135 or higher, my brain feels swollen and I cannot think straight and if I was to take a drunk driving test my reflexes would be such that I wouldn't pass. I get an overwhelming feeling that I am going to collapse and die. The fact that ANY chemicals that can do this to ANY person are still being used is an absolute crime.

These chemicals need to be eliminated as soon as possible for use any ANY products to protect the American people. To do less is not acceptable!

Don't forget that these chemical fragrances are also being used in food packaging (like ice cream containers) and that fragrance is in plastic and plasticisers are in fragrance. It's become ubiquitous in this clueless society and it has to change.

Thank you for bringing up flavors! Because of trade secret laws "Flavour houses" don't have to disclose their ingredients. To either the government, or their customers.

I developed MCS 3 years ago. For a while I thought it had spread to natural things because I had this reaction to a juice my room mate brought home. He drank it often but after about a two months when I smelled it, it ripped through my head like acid. I didn't realize until almost a year later after moving out and having a few other reactions to flavoured products that it was the artificial and natural flavours that were making me feel sick.

Now I can't be around anyone who has even eaten a candy that's been flavoured, never mind gum, you may as well spray fabreez in my face. What a nightmare. I see people using these products and they look like ants in a raid commercial.

Makes me glad I married a woman who doesn't bother with cosmetics. :-)

I must admit I don't know most of the chemicals being used but. hey It doesn't matter if I know the benefits of it, what I want to know is if they are safe.

I have started using rosewater as a kind of perfume! Doesn't last long, but smells oh so good!

It's wonderful to read your thoughts and knowledge. I appreciate people like you who care enough to take the time to educate people about the changes we need to make.
I became aware of these harmful chemicals about four years ago. I am 39 years old, and have made many changes over these four years, to what I feed my family, what we put on our skin, and what I use to clean my house. Sadly, my father-in-law just passed away at the young age of 61 years old a few weeks ago. Everyone is so surprised because he appeared to be a healthy person, but I know through what I have learned that the toxins in foods, house hold cleaners,toxins in the workplace (he was a mechanic)...etc., all had a part in him having a major stroke. I even remember him years ago making jig heads for fishing, out of lead that he would heat up and pour into molds. Yikes. I am hearing about, and seeing, so many other people going through the same situation of losing someone at a young age from heart attack, stroke, cancer.
I'm continuing to learn a lot especially about the foods we eat. Just recently I started going to a chiropractor who educates people on these subjects. I had a lot of knowledge about processed foods, however, I was astonished to hear about the meats that we buy in the local grocery store. I was so thankful to find this chiropractor office because most of my learning had been on my own with reading books and the internet. Now I feel like I have found a place where I feel supported in my learning, and have more people to learn from.
We all need to support eachother in this fight to demand products that are safe. Thank you for your heart-felt thoughts.

I'm SO happy to come across this article. I've always been extremely sensitive and reactive to products containing "fragrance" and am so happy to belong to a company that shares my concerns. At SIRCUIT Cosmeceuticals, we encourage people to really check their ingredients and be aware of what they're putting on and into their bodies.

On 5.3.10 we updated this blog post to clarify that "musk ambrette" is not included on this list. It has not been reported as used by fragrance companies, as we had initially thought. Which is good news since it is quite toxic. Lisa Frack, EWG