I’ve been observing advertising for fragranced products over the years and have found some of the ads to be quite telling.
For instance, every time I’ve seen an ad for this product, it looks like the people using it are inhaling drugs.
And this product too. All the ads show adults and/or children who look like they are getting stoned:
What about these?
This image has also been modified to be more appropriate:
(Woman tied up while inhaling from a grenade…?)
and this
…
Doesn’t this woman look like the picture of happiness while getting her daily fix?
…
Makes you wonder, no?
Be free.
Be fragrance-free!
It’s good for you. It’s good for me.
For facts and deets, see some of the other posts on this site, like
“Are Fragrances Drugs by Design” and “The Fragrance Industry’s Toxic Secrets”
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“Drugs are chemicals that change the way a person’s body works. …
While using drugs, people are also less able to do well in school, sports, and other activities. It’s often harder to think clearly and make good decisions. People can do dumb or dangerous things that could hurt them — or other people — when they use drugs.”
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Updated to include this about inhalants (from KidsHealth):
What They Are:
Inhalants (say: in-HAY-lents) are substances that are sniffed or huffed to give the user an immediate rush, or high. They include glues, paint thinners, dry cleaning fluids, gasoline, felt-tip marker fluid, hair spray, deodorants, spray paint, and whipped cream dispensers (whippets).
Sometimes Called:
whippets, poppers, snappers, rush, bolt, bullet
How They’re Used:
These are inhaled directly from the container (called sniffing or snorting), from a plastic bag (called bagging), or by holding an inhalant-soaked rag to the mouth (called huffing).
What They Do to You:
Inhalants produce a quick feeling of being drunk — followed by sleepiness, staggering, dizziness, and confusion. Long-time users get headaches, nosebleeds, and sometimes lose their sense of smell. Inhalants decrease oxygen to the brain and can cause brain damage.
Although inhalants can be found around the house, they’re so bad for you that using them, even one time, can kill you.
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While fragrances are designed not to kill you from one use (unless you are extremely allergic) they can and do cause serious adverse health effects and severe disability in a growing number of people, which is why there are more and more fragrance-free policies being developed, because they save lives!
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Be free. Be fragrance-free!
It’s good for you. It’s good for me.
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 
At least it sounds like “Addict” and “Poison” are going for some level of truth in advertising.
Indeed, there are a few aptly products out there…
And the commercials for G and f products … I’ve always seen them as depicting, even encouraging users and addicts…
What I don’t get (or maybe I do) is why it’s ok (legal) to market products that affect your brain, and cause adverse health effects in a great many people (even non-users), but some plants that grow naturally are not legal… even though they cause fewer (if any) adverse health effects? Oh, wait… maybe it’s because the toxic economy profits from one and not the other?
Colour me grumpy… I’m one of the thousands of people who has to suffer adverse health effects every time any neighbours do laundry with Gain… (and other toxic laundry products, but Gain stands out for so many of us)
Air Effects Gain Original Scent (from their website):
“DON’T USE on fabrics (…), near an open flame, or (as with all air care products) near birds.”
hmmm…
and no ingredient lists to be found anywhere on the website…
So, we have to go to EWG, where they discovered eighty-nine air POLLUTANTS were released when using febreze!
How can a pollutant, never mind 89 of them “freshen” the air? Or be an “air care” product?
Febreze Air Effects:
This product released 89 air contaminants.
http://www.ewg.org/cleaners/hallofshame/
http://www.ewg.org/research/greener-school-cleaning-supplies/school-cleaner-test-results?schoolprod=219
http://www.ewg.org/guides/brand/6531
It would be quite lovely if Peace or Love were the driving forces of most people rather than a profit margin. There is always hope.
Mathieu Ricard (said to be the happiest man in the world) has written a new book about that:
“Altruism, Ricard’s new masterwork, presents a global vision based on decades of personal experience and insight, a road map for the 21st century. Ricard demonstrates how altruism is not an abstract ideal, but an essential dimension of our nature that everyone can cultivate and expand. He emphasizes developing altruistic compassion as the best means for benefiting ourselves and our society. Ricard uncovers the reasons why altruism is the vital thread that can answer the main challenges of our time: the economy in the short term, life satisfaction in the mid-term, and environment in the long term.
The book paints a complete picture of the importance of altruism and the world’s need for it, and explores its impact in society, politics, the economy, the environment, and education. Major world entrepreneurs, economists, and thinkers have embraced Ricard’s message. It is universal in its approach and should appeal to anyone and everyone who seeks to create a more positive and sustainable future.”
http://altruismbook.com/about-the-book/
TED talk here:
I’ve listened to his two TED talks. Thanks for reminding me about him. I went back and listened to the altruism one again. Maybe I’ll do the happiness one today. Sounds like a book worth reading and certainly a philosophy worth adopting. Peace.
More about fragrances as drugs here:
https://lindasepp.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/are-fragrances-drugs-by-design/
Role of perfumes in pathogenesis of autism.
” Here we provide evidence that a majority of perfumes are highly mutagenic at femtomolar concentrations, and cause significant neuromodulations in human neuroblastoma cells at extremely low levels of concentration, levels that are expected to reach a developing fetal brain if the pregnant mothers are exposed to these chemicals.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23578362
Smell of autism: synthetic fragrances and cause for allergies, asthma, cancer and autism
“The potential role of fragrances and particularly perfumes, which are mainly synthetic chemicals from petrochemicals and contain benzene ring compounds, needs investigations. These chemicals are highly mutagenic and cause foetal brain cell death at extremely low concentrations.”
http://www.oapublishinglondon.com/article/611
Environmental factors may contribute to autism development and male bias: Effects of fragrances on developing neurons.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26408793
Excellent article, Linda. The drug analogy works. When I used to wear fragrances, it was a ht like that. And when pees choose heroin over family members it’s exactly like that. But when we lose our family members or friends over someone’s preference of “choice” to wear their AV fragrance, we have an allergy or it’s our immune systems.
Yes, they like to put the blame elsewhere, and say that we are the defective ones, don’t they? They’ve been well trained by the marketing and merchants of doubt :-(