The dangers of aroma technology: for those who suffer from MCS

[Guest guest]

http://www.thecanaryreport.org/2009/01/11/the-dangers-of-aroma-

techonology/

The dangers of aroma technology

January 11, 2009 by Susie

Scent marketers contaminate the air we breathe with toxic chemicals

without our consent.

Brumfield, at left, is the author of Whiff! The Revolution in

Scent Communication in Technology, a book marketed to the business

world about how to manipulate consumers with scent. Brumfield, whose

background is in staging corporate events for Fortune 500 companies,

is a self-proclaimed, self-promoting " scent marketing expert, " urging

companies to scent everything from air conditioning systems to

packaging materials.

People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and others concerned about

the ubiquitous presence of toxic chemicals in every day life are

alarmed at this trend in consumer manipulation, and here's why:

Fragrance manufacturers are not required to prove what is in their

products. They are not required to prove or disclose that the product

contains or doesn't contain " natural oils, " petrochemicals or

solvents. Further, there is no regulation on what the word " natural "

means. The substances they use are completely unregulated and the

vast majority have not been tested for health and safety.

Several of the chemicals used in fragrance products have been proven

to be highly toxic such as phthalates, the chemicals used to make

fragrance last a long time. In fact, male reproductive development is

acutely sensitive to some phthalates, which have produced dramatic

changes in male sexual characteristics when exposure took place at

levels far beneath those of previous toxicological concern. Further,

sensitive people can have allergic and other adverse health effects

from terpene, linalool and limonene regardless of the source.

Scent marketing, especially at the scale proposed by Brumfiled,

clearly intrudes into basic human rights issues. Scent marketers are

deliberately designing and releasing substances into the air that

target and affect our brains, without our express permission, without

a medical license, and without proving the safety of the products

with independent testing and government regulation. How is this

different from someone slipping drugs into drinks without permission?

The St. sburg Times interviewed Brumfield last week, here's an

excerpt:

Scents are being deployed through smaller and smaller media in

stores. How does it work?

Little scent machines are deployed in remote spaces or connected to

the air conditioning in virtually every hotel lobby and most stores

in the mall, chains like Macy's, Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch.

Studies show that the right scent can get shoppers to linger up to 40

percent longer. Every 1 percent increase in customer dwell time adds

$1 in sales per square foot. We can do a mall store for $100 to $200

a month.

Just about every package these days is strategically scented. Samsung

and Sony both have signature scents now. They even pumped orange

citrus scent into Tropicana Field for the World Series, although I

cannot understand if they were trying to brand the place as a

ballpark or an air freshener.

What's next for hotels?

Candles once were about light, but the sales growth of scented

candles shows people now want to manage smells to manage emotions in

their homes and environment. We can do that with little machines,

instead of the fire hazard of candles. We are talking with hotel

chains about offering in each room a choice of six to eight scents

that can be piped in through the air conditioning along with custom

lighting and music. It only costs the hotel about 30 cents a day per

room.