At first I thought it was a tempest in a teapot. I started looking at our numbers. Charges of mania and hypocondria, or that they are professional victims, wimps and whiners are being hurled at those who say perfumes make them sick. But what is striking in all this noise is the absence of facts to back up these attacks. MCS sufferers have been one of the forces working for scent-free policies but they are certainly not alone.
Fragrances are respiratory irritants.
This is readily acknowledged by the fragrance industry, doctors, and scientists. Seventy-two percent of asthmatics develop respiratory symptoms when exposed to fragrances. Fragrance is also a known trigger for migraine headaches. Fragrances are no longer found mainly in perfumes. More than half of the fragrance industry's profits come from products other than perfumes, from toilet paper to rubber tires, dolls to garbage bags.