----- Original Message -----

Dear Friends --

This alert in from a fellow EHNer . . .

I cannot get to O on my old computer. I'll have to look for the article today. Hope you all can also find a copy. Somewhere.

I've already contacted folks I believe may be excellent at writing rebuttals to this, and now I'm informing all of you with my "broad brush." I hope some of you who are seriously afflicted by fragrances can take the time and energy to let Oprah know that it doesn't matter what people connected with the industry tells us about the safety of cosmetics, independent research indicates otherwise.

Including EHN's FDA petition w/analyses: 99P-1340, which is still open and accepting letters to <fdadockets@...> Simply reference 99P-1340 in the subject line and write your reactions to fragrances. Do not include any personal identifying insurance numbers or your social security number. Full petition 99P-1340, replete with analyses, see: http://www.ehnca.org/FDApetition/bkgrinfo.htm

Fragrances have been shown to be harmful to the public from fetal development to old age, to the aquatic and wildlife downstream, to the development of smog with their CO2 emissions. That from the 1980s on, we've had research explain the harms of fragrances derived from petrochemicals. Heavens, in 1986, Congress was told that fragrances should be studied for their neurotoxic effects. Despite the early warnings about fragrances causing asthma for users and nonusers, for fragrances causing problems for the nervous systems, for harmful effects to the respiratory and cardiovascular system, etc., there has been little research independent of the industry's and their repeated assurances that their products are safe.

The problem is, as I see it, we've a huge disconnect between the industry telling us how damned safe all their petrochemically derived flavors and fragrances are while the medical industry wrings its collective hands over the "mystery" "epidemic" of various and sundry diseases, all of which started taking off in the 1970s when the major push happened in the fragrance industry taking it over into the petrochemical industry. OF course, along with that move was the development of petrochemically derived drugs. Those industries flourish. Public health tanks. While the major decision makers at CDC (remember they leave off the P for PREVENTION!), the FDA or the EPA won't give a rat's tutu about it. And now, we have, according to the email above, Oprah's O Magazine telling us that cosmetics, including perfumes were not toxic to humans.

And just so we are on the same page, by definition, my American Heritage dictionary explains TOXIC thusly:

And because there have been deaths and considerable injury because of perfumes, I find them to definitely be toxic to humans, as well as life downstream.

IF you want more info, there's Betty's site, http://www.fpinva.org and the one I've donated to EHN at http://www.ehnca.org . . . especially, EHN's section of Fragrance Info http://users.lmi.net/~wilworks/ehnlinx/f.htm#Fragrance

Also, before it is blocked, you can go to this old GreenPeace UK site and print out a copy for your records. The Chemical Home has been closed, but I've just gotten it again through the WayBack Machine. That URL is:

http://web.archive.org/web/20060214044522/http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/Products/Toxics/chemicalhouse.cfm?producttypeid=5

Read the article, then please, if you are feeling up to it, please take the time to respond. Oprah should hear from us. The already fragranced poisoned.

Thanks much!!!

barb wilkie

EHN president emerita

www.ehnca.org

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