Scented dangers: Who regulates scented products?

The internet and airwaves are full of advertisements offering to make you, your home, your car and your workplace smell better. It all seems innocuous because our sense of smell is always turned on, and we seem to be fine as we breath in scents from household cleaners, body soap, shampoo, cologne, scented candles and air fresheners. But that perception is belied by invisible dangers from these products.

The headline for a piece summarizing a recent study regarding particulate pollution from indoor scented products says it all: "Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust." According the study, scented products are "a significant source of nanosized particles small enough to get deep into your lungs, posing a potential risk to respiratory health."

That's bad enough. But who actually regulates what goes into these products, many of which contain chemically manufactured scents? Here's what the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says on its website: "[I]f a product such as a shower gel is intended only to cleanse the body, or a perfume or cologne is intended only to make a person smell good, it’s a cosmetic. The law doesn’t require cosmetics to have FDA approval before they go on the market."

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) explains that typically, fragrance chemicals in such products are listed only as "fragrance." This is because "[a]lthough companies are required by law to list all chemical ingredients in a product, a special loophole allows them to hide what's in the 'fragrance' component."  EWG lists phthalates as a prominent ingredient in scented products. Phthalates have been linked to birth defects in the reproductive systems of boys, low sperm motility in adult men, and adrenal, kidney and liver damage in laboratory studies on animals. EWG provides an online guide to safer personal care products.

The FDA says it can act if there is "reliable information" that a product already on the market is unsafe or improperly labeled. But consumers cannot be sure that such products are safe because they are not tested before coming to market. And, there is no indication that the FDA regards chemically manufactured scents as a danger even though they contain synthetic chemicals that may not have been tested for safety when inhaled by humans.

But surely the FDA must be inspecting all facilities which make these products? No, it does not. According to the FDA website:

A number of factors affect how FDA determines that an inspection of a cosmetic establishment may be warranted. These factors may include--but are not limited to--the type of products, the significance of consumer or trade complaints received, the company's compliance history, FDA surveillance and compliance initiatives, and agency resources.

So, not all facilities are inspected, only those that the FDA deems necessary under the criteria listed above. The FDA further states that "[u]nder the law, manufacturers are not required to register their cosmetic establishments or file their product formulations with FDA, and no registration number is required to import cosmetics into the United States." That suggests that the FDA doesn't even have a complete list of those who do manufacture cosmetics or the products that they make.

Of course, the cosmetics industry is vast and includes all personal care products. It's not surprising that the FDA chooses to prioritize which facilities to inspect using its limited manpower and resources. But the public generally believes that it is being protected by the FDA in a more thoroughgoing way than the FDA's current enforcement policies suggest.

For scented products not applied to the body such as scented candles, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the regulator. A search of the CPSC website reveals that the primary concern seems to be about fire hazards from such candles, not indoor air pollution. The CPSC staff does appear to be looking into sources of scents and cleaning fluids used in association with virtual reality technology.

Cleaning products (which are often scented) fall under a variety of agencies depending on where and how they are used. This article notes:

The EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] has also issued regulations limiting the volatile organic compound (VOC) concentration in various institutional and consumer cleaning products. Products that may contain regulated VOCs include (but are not limited to) bathroom and tile cleaners, disinfectants and sanitizers, furniture cleaners, laundry starch and detergents, fabric refresher (linen spray), hair styling products, shaving gels and air fresheners (room spray).

Given that the odors from these products can still be quite strong, one wonders just how strict those limits are. The fact that the EPA regulates these tells you already that the agency regards them as harmful or potentially harmful. That means those scented beads for use in your washing machine to make your clothes smell "fresher" for longer may not be as safe as you think. Likewise, the scented dryer sheets.

European regulators have become concerned about hazardous chemicals in scented products, particularly ones that are known endocrine disrupters, that is, they interfere with the natural chemical signaling in the body.

A 2024 study examined 2,279 unique ingredients in 8,500 personal care products and found 45 chemicals that are "high hazards or are considered emerging chemical classes of concern...and thus should be prioritized for elimination." Not surprisingly, one of the top 10 is used as a fragrance.

This piece written by a pulmonologist lists possible short- and long-term health effects of artificial fragrances:

What are potential short-term health effects of fragrances?

• Allergic or inflammatory responses, such as itchy/watery eyes, congestion, runny nose, throat irritation, coughing or wheezing
• For people with lung disease, particularly asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), there can be wheezing, shortness of breath or other underlying symptoms.
• Heart rate or blood pressure changes
• Migraine headaches

What are potential long-term health effects of fragrances?

• Difficulty breathing
• Changes in cardiac function, specifically in the heart’s ability to pump
• Disruption to the endocrine system, which regulates hormones
• Increases in glucose levels, similar to those in people with type two diabetes, a risk that can be passed from pregnant women to offspring
• Based on early research, possible exacerbation of dementia
• Certain cancers, with high, prolonged, continuous exposure to some compounds

This piece warns that even products which contain natural essential oils may also contain artificial scents.

Wherever you go today, you are likely to encounter artificial scents. Most of those scents are designed to mimic natural scents which are often expensive to gather and concentrate from natural sources. Artificial scents are cheaper, but, in my view, the dangers far outweigh the so-called benefits, which amount to entertaining your sense of smell or covering up less pleasant smells. Instead, cook something you like that smells appetizing or go for a walk in a flower garden or a forest. That's what your nose was actually made for, and it's far safer than the artificial stuff.

Kurt Cobb is a freelance writer and communications consultant who writes frequently about energy and environment. His work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Resilience, Common Dreams, Naked Capitalism, Le Monde Diplomatique, Oilprice.com, OilVoice, TalkMarkets, Investing.com, Business Insider and many other places. He is the author of an oil-themed novel entitled Prelude and has a widely followed blog called Resource Insights. He can be contacted at kurtcobb2001@yahoo.com.