Perfume …the New Second Hand Smoke?

Our fragrant future is at stake. We are living in the 21st century, where open office environments and anti-fragrance activists may turn our love of perfumery into a crime.

There may be a time,  in the near future, where we will become actual olfactive offenders; huddled in our apartments or homes,or standing out in the freezing cold just to wear our favorite fragrance.  I am assuming if you are reading this, you take the art of fragrance seriously, and that  know better than to pour half a bottle of a scent all over you. If you live in the USA, you must have noticed that you are no longer bombarded by the "perfume ladies" in department stores spraying you without your permission; instead, you  are discreetly asked to smell a scent on white blotters, and can choose to spray at your own risk . 

 Many natural perfumers have told  me that they were allergic to non-botanical fragrances, which inspired them to create chemical free scents. Yet, all natural  ingredients can caus allergic reactions as well. The new fragrance free zones sweeping America at a record pace , will affect their perfumes as well.

 

Just a week ago, it was anounced that fragrance free zone signs will be posted in Detroit, where City employees will be urged not to wear perfume, cologne or aftershave. This came about  as a result of a settlement in a federal lawsuit, where the plaintiff was awarded $100,00 to a city employee who said a colleague's perfume "made it challenging for her to do her job" (my first encounter with a fragrance free zone was 15 years ago, when a sign on a door of restaurant banned the wearing of Giorgio and Poison).  Detroit… the  home  of  the auto industry !

Can wearing your beloved fine fragrance be the last "PC"  prejudice?

Many people have allergies to food and pets and take the proper precautions.  Imagine banning all foods with peanuts or glutens ?

Since I starting writing on this subject in 2005, the changes in both the IFA regulations and IFRA have certainly been a hot button among Perfumers, Fragrance Companies  and Perfumistos. Creating fragrances that smells like "clean white shirts" or "laundry soap",  is not the answer.  This is not Art.

We are all friends-in fragrance .  As a community, the Fragrance Industry, IFRA,  large consumer event groups like Sniffapalooza, bloggers, perfumistos, and perfumers must unite and  stand together to  fight  the repercussions of  "anti- perfumism" on our Art.

But for now be 'scentsible, and 'scentsitive'— wear  fragrances that stays close to the skin, or if you are sensitive to synthetics wear a botanical fragrance when in public spaces or at your office.

– Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

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26 comments

  • JoAnne Bassett says:

    Thank you for the heads up Michelyn..

    I am one of those people who cannot stand synthetic fragrances..whether in Glade, laundry detergents, or women’s fragrances in a dept store. I also have a difficult time with cigarette smoke..so I can see the sensitive side of the equation. Giorgio and some of those would do me in.

    I also started creating naturals so I could wear fragrance again and like the fact that naturals stay more close to the body..and are not so in your face.

    I do not know the answer..I also create scented body care products that are a softer scent…maybe for some this would work…I love to wear fragrances it is the finishing touch.

  • Yendor Sehguh says:

    If a certain mayor gets wind of this, we will be the first city/state to ban or tax wearers of fragrance.

  • Anya says:

    Dear Michelyn:

    A timely article about a disturbing trend. Education is key in this matter, and civil discourse is needed. We are joined by our love of perfume, and we try to find ways to counteract such legislation. I am very sensitive to many respiratory allergens found in modern perfume, yet I would never dream of such drastic measures as to ban fragrances.

    Anya

  • Marlene says:

    I agree we must ban together. Perfume is not like cigarette smoke – it does not cause terminal illness and one can avoid it most times by walking away. It is a personal expression, a statement, an invisible form of speech. As such banning it is like silencing us. Education, as Anya says, is key.

  • Michelyn says:

    Big tobacco and the auto industry have “lobbies”.
    The NAACP and AARP, have their very large powerful groups. Look at what the airllines did with “too fat to fly”….Imagining banning an art exhibit, or certain music in the 21st century.They tried with Mapplethorpe and they tried with rap.
    Their are groups now protesting vaccinations that may contribute to autism.
    WHAT are we doing?

  • Andy says:

    This is ridiculous! Obviously I understand that some people are very sensitive to scents but what’s next, a law suit against body odors? I have suffered from this in my last work place. The guy sitting next to me stank of sweat and his breath was horrible. It also made my working hard, but I don’t think my lawsuit against the company would have been gone through. Where is this world going? I’m speechless.

  • Michelyn Camen says:

    Andy… the issue is looming ahead of us and the quality of fragrances will certainly suffer. If this message finally hits home , that we face a national ban against perfume, perhaps something will be done. Colorado has fragrance free zones, Portland too. Now if it happens in Hollywood,and New York City maybe something will be done.There are so many celebrities signing fragrance deals, they sure got the media’s attention and $$$

  • Willow Franklin says:

    I too share your worry of an overwhelming backlash against traditional perfumery. It is something to think about.. We the lovers of scent in all its rich firns from classics, Joy, No. 5 . to the Fracas and Frderic Malles need to protect our  rights.
    What about body odor, rancid breath, need for Summer's Eve etc ?
    Next will it be mandatory to wear unscented deodorant, panty liners ?
    I loved Giorgio, Poison I am not a wearer of the so called natural perfume lines –
    These new tregs are a violation of our collective privacy .
    These new anti perfume signs sadly represent a riduculous movement that has gone to far and needs to be stopped.
     

  • Jackie says:

    The reason so many places have to ban fragrances is that people do not know the proper amount to use- we are so bombarded with ads for body sprays, perfumes, etc. that people assume one needs to practically bathe in the scents.  The same goes for one trying to get rid of other odours (such as body odours)- very few people seem to realize that by spraying a perfumed 'air freshener', it actually makes the smells worse rather than covering them up.  I don't even want to think about what nasty chemicals are in most perfumes- a recent study in Canada just hit the headlines, and most popular perfumes have hidden ingredients that can be potentially harmful.  Just ask anyone who's sensitive to scents- they can usually tell which are manufactured scents and which are not; even when I'm at my most sensitive, I can still stand natural smells much better than manufactured/chemical-based ones.
    I do not like the idea of having to ban scents, but when I am forced to sit next to 3 people on the bus on my way to work who've bathed in perfumes and am then having to spend several days recovering from it (the migraine and nausea go away, but the effects on my body can linger by becoming hypersensitive for several days, and I am a somewhat mild sufferer), I support the banning of them in workplaces and schools. 

  • Jill says:

    I would be the very first to join a pro-fragrance group; if there are any out there.  I would most definitely put in the time & effort to make sure the art of scent is kept alive. I am extremely sick & tired of leftist fanatics dictating & telling us what we can & can't do.Also can't wait for that"fraud of a mayor" to be done with his term in NYC.. I happen to be from NJ but I still can't stand what he's putting NY through!  Sadly, we are living in a disgustingly politically correct, anti-everything generation.  I feel as though we're soonto all be assigned national uniforms & name tags.  Our present society reminds me so much of George Orwell's"1984" book.  Whenever I tell this to people, I always get a stupid blank stare back.  I believe that WE THE PEOPLE must step up & speak out.  Unfortunately too many people are too cowardly to stand out & stand up for their rights.  I WILL NEVER stop wearing fragrance.  If it came to it, yes I would move to Europe if fragrance wearing became illegal. YES I WOULD!!

  • Wilson says:

    Who says that fragrances do not cause long term health issues like cigarettes? Cigarettes were once promoted by doctors for stress relief. More and more people are becoming ill from the airborne chemicals from fragrances in body care products and perfumes etc. Are people really that attached to smelling 'pretty' that they would harm others? Food and animal allergens are easy to avoid, as they are contained, but fragrances are not contained to the person wearing them… they fill the space around the person too and if everyone wears them they are unavoidable. People who get sick from fragrances have a disability and what the refusal to be sensitive to this rising percentage of the population translates as is that society doesnt care about disabled people. A split second decision to wear your fragrance could mean the total incapacitation of a sensitive person briefly exposed to it  for days, sometimes weeks. Fragrances everywhere in society means these people are disadvantaged in employment, education and day to day activities like doing their shopping, having access to basic human needs like public toilets and not to forget the basic human need to be social, to feel a part of the community. 
    If wearing a fragrance is that important to you that you would knowingly harm another person, I feel deeply sorry for where youre at in your life. It's just a smell to you, but it means a life of isolation and illness for others.

  • Joe says:

    Wilson, whatever you are talking about does not meet the legal definition of a "disability", and certainly  not the ADA definition. 

  • Melva Smith says:

    Yes, you better believe scented products and shared air have became as popular as second hand smoke issues.
    Want to make a difference? Sign and pass on the petition to the US Olympic Committee asking that they and their affiliated organizations go scent free to accommodate those with disabilities that will not allow them around these products. Also read the preamble and view what it does to the brain during SPECT scans, see what’s in perfume and you might not want to put it on your body.
    http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/ban-scented-products-in-the-olypmics-and-affiliated-org.html

  • Ingvor Andersson says:

    Is there a right to always have a choice, even when we know someone is tormented by our choice? No matter how we view the right to choose, whether it is scented or unscented, we only have exactly two options: ignore and continue as usual, or decide to change.

    We need to ask ourselves what it means that there is an entire industry that asks for your and other people’s money and that it uses paraphrases of reality to get people to continue to consume and to be “fresh”. What does it mean to be “fresh”?
    Fresh seems to be only if you use scented products, as advertised, and too many go on this advertising. I have read so many blogs from young, beautiful women and their world is it automatically be refreshed = use perfumed products for themselves and for their children. Although the men have now embraced this “freshness” and is a cash cow for the perfume and chemical industry. They have never thought that in these scented products are a lot of dangerous chemicals, which in the long run harm people, animals and nature. Many believe that clean laundry = scented detergent and fabric softener! Totally insane. I do not think they had a chance to really get the smell of clean laundry, ie, washed with fragrance-free detergent, and if you can stand (pollen), it is allowed to dry outdoors in the wind.

    Perhaps no response from the perfumes will later in life, but what??? Not one could well imagine that all the time, no it is perhaps not, but if you take part of all information supplied almost daily basis, that perfumes are simply chemicals that destroy our bodies, then you should make a choice and try to refrain. You know then that people are getting sick and that we become more and more in the world who have to give the Community with other people because of all sorts of aromas, the choice can be hard then?

    I have my own website/blogg, a channel to reach out to those who suffer from invisible disabilities that limit their lives, and to spread knowledge to those who are spared from this. I hope that by sharing my experiences and my views could highlight issues that are important for me to cope with the haves, which include life, and raising the awareness of my fellow human beings who are fortunate enough to avoid living with my disease.
    http://www.doftfri.se (There is a Google Translater in English)

  • Linda Rocco says:

    The effect of many modern perfumes on chemically sensitive persons is immediate, intense and extremely unpleasant. It can be worse than second hand smoke. If people new how vile these scents are to the chemically sensitive they would be embarassed to wear them. People don’t roll in dead skunk and go to the movies because that scent is universally offensive. Many modern scents are equally offensive to people like me but because we are a small minority we take a chance every time we buy a concert ticket or ride on an airplane or go anywhere in public of being nauseated by fragrances.

  • NJ Benoy says:

    It is also important to remember that those of us who are chemically sensitive suffer real adverse health effects even from products that do not smell offensive to us. In my case the effects range from nasal congestion to asthma attacks depending upon the chemicals in the product. I find air “fresheners”, dryer sheets and any product containing musk make it particularly difficult for me to breath.

  • Catherine G says:

    Peanuts ARE now banned in many child care centers and schools to protect those who need protecting.

  • Gina C says:

    Last weekend my 70 year old mother, who suffers from chemical sensitivities, was sent from a rehab facility to a hospital with chest pain. She recently suffered a stroke and is going through the painful process of recovering from that, and this is all on top of heart trouble and kidney disease. Because so many staff members of that hospital were loudly artificially fragrant, my normally graceful and loving mother spent four miserable days vomiting, unable to eat, and unusually aggressive. She also went through several bouts of confusion and mild but disturbing hallucinations. Fragrances make some people sick and make sick people even sicker. I’m not talking about “eww, that stuff makes me sick!” I’m talking about genuine, undeniable illness.

    The very worst thing is when we tried to talk to the staff about this, few were understanding, many denied that they were offensively fragrant, and a couple of them got so bent out of shape and insulted that something they chose to do was causing harm, that they came back in her room and got close to her with seemingly more fragrance than before as a way to punish my mother for offending them.

    When you suffer from this DISABILITY (and, yes, it is disabling and, yes, it is officially part of the American Disabilities Act) you are at the mercy of another’s good judgment, and unfortunately many Americans believe their right to personally express themselves is greater than my mother’s right not to suffer unnecessarily. What if I wanted to personally express myself by adding rat poison to food I prepare for others? Or maybe I feel the need to express myself by punching random people in the head and stomach? I would be sent to jail…rightfully. Your rights end where they invade the personal space of others. Period. I’m sorry world of artificial fragrances, and the bazillions of dollars you take from Americans so they can poison themselves and others. Sometimes, as an act of love, we have an opportunity to make a small sacrifice for the joy of another. This is one of those times.

  • sunny girl says:

    Perfumes are harmful and contain harmful cancer causing chemicals.One in three asthma attacks are due to perfumes. You wear perfume and I get to have asthma all day. It is a nightmare to be trapped in an office with women who insist on wearing perfume even when they are aware that a scent sensitive person sits in their office. They think it is their right It is not just the health effects, it stinks for the most part. Can’t they tell that they don’t smell good?

  • penelope says:

    i just spent 2.5 hours on a crowded plane form DEN to SFO with my scarf held to my nose, a strong stream of air between me and the perfume wearer and my nose pressed to the window away from her. Oh and fuming that I had spent extra to sit in this seat. I politely explained to her that she had strong scent on and she said “it will be fine” I said perplexed ” I have no idea how you can say that”.

  • Christine says:

    I think you’re quoting natural perfumers when you make reference to chemicals, but nothing gets under my skin more than referring to *anything* as chemical free. We’re made of chemicals! All of us! Bah!

    While I disagree with the ban, it’s not prejudicial to ban perfumes in work places and/or other offices. It sucks. Hopefully people would use common sense. But alas, you and I know that common sense doesn’t always reign and that even though most in this community know better than to pour on half a bottle of Opium before going into work, not everyone does. So, yeah, it stinks (see what I did there, har). But it’s not prejudicial to ban something that might bother others. That’s akin to someone indicating that it would be prejudicial to ban peanut products from certain spaces.

    Sometimes a little consideration goes a long way.

  • Roger says:

    I’m baffled. And I still believe people are looking at fingers rather than the moon. The moon being the quality of the air, which is not getting any better anywhere. Why not try to ban cars and trucks? I started having hayfever symptoms a few years ago, after living in London for a while and having moved from rural Italy. Do I blame the flowers? Or the pollen particles that bind with pollution to become allergens?
    Today is perfume. Tomorrow will be something else.

  • Hikmat Sher Afridi says:

    I now fear that the IFA regulations and IFRA may ban the plantation of such plants, herbs & flowers used as an ingredients in perfumes & will force to use synthetic materials as an alternate.

  • Carolyn Torrance says:

    Here’s my life: if I’m taking a walk and someone is using dryer sheets, I have to hold my breath until I pass the area. If I go to a public function and someone is wearing strong fragrance, I must leave. If someone uses Glade, or any brand, plug ins, I can’t be there. There have been times when we’ve been traveling that I had to visit 4-5 gas stations before I could find one w/o bathroom scent so I could go to the bathroom. We bought a late model used truck. The guys at the shop were told to use no scented products when they serviced the vehicle. They used scented dryer sheets to wipe down the interior. Four months later, I still cannot ride in it. Chemically reproduced scents cause me to have asthma attacks, get sick at my stomach, diarrhea, confusion, severe headaches. If I go into an area with strong scent, it stays on my clothes, so just leaving doesn’t help. I must change clothes, shower, wash my hair. If someone wearing scent hugs me before I can stop them, same thing. I’ve been to three allergists, there is no cure, just avoidance. Now, just try avoiding all fake scents! I can’t even go to the grocery store! We’ve become obsessed with scent! Scent does not replace clean! I’ve not always had this problem, it started 20 years ago, and yes, it’s a disability. It’s just awful. I finally had to quit my job because of this problem.