A plea to perfume and cologne wearers…

Oh, people I HAVE to rant – and truly I had to wait for an hour after I got home from a grocery store today, to post this! It’s a rant most can’t understand or care to hear, because it’s about perfumes and colognes.

Do you realize that “fragrance” is the new “second-hand smoke!? Don’t laugh! It’s true! Someone once ignorantly told me, “Well I wear perfume to keep from stinking!”

Excuse me? If you stink, then take a bath! Being clean and smelling great should never mean using manufactured, toxic substances that you will inhale and absorb into your bodies - much less, impose on others!

Let me be perfectly honest here: If you’re a perfume/cologne wearer, you are a walking toxic dump, because your favorite fragrance can be deadly for people with asthma or chemical sensitivities, or what I have – something my allergist calls, “chemical-induced asthma!”

This is no joke. There are literally millions of people with “multiple chemical sensitivities.” Everyday products from cleaning supplies to perfumes trigger health problems in an estimated 55 million Americans, according to a new study into an admittedly disputed condition known as “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities” (MCS).

One in four Americans report being sensitive to household chemicals, according to research conducted by organizations such as the University of Melbourne, Australia. Of those studied, almost half were diagnosed with MCS: an umbrella term used to describe patients who say their lives are impacted by low-level exposure to chemicals.

In my case, in the 30 years I worked in various offices on two continents, I was forced to deal with second-smoke. Finally, approximately 10 years before I retired from public life, the American government outlawed indoor smoking. FINALLY! After YEARS of being forced to inhale the end product of someone else’s “right” to smoke…

And now that fragrances have gotten out of hand – guess what! The nightmare for millions has started all over again!

PLEASE think about being considerate the next time you appear in public. REMEMBER that it’s bad enough that you’ve showered with scented soap and shampoo and conditioner, and used your favorite scented hairspray and deodorant. Do you REALLY need to slosh on your favorite perfume ON TOP of that?

REALLY?