The Town of Huntsville already provides a scent-free workplace for its employees, but now it wants to extend that scent-free consideration to all areas in municipal buildings. Visitors to Huntsville Hospital will already be familiar with such a request – Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) asks everyone at its sites to not use perfume, cologne, scented lotions, hairspray and other scented personal products on days they plan to be at the hospital.
For those without chemical or environmental sensitivities – the accepted terms for people who react in some way to chemicals in their environments, which would include those from perfumes and scented body products – it might all seem a little silly. But for the estimated 2.4 per cent of the population who are sensitive to them, an encounter can be uncomfortable at best and downright debilitating at worst. Reactions include airway and nasal irritation causing coughing or stuffiness, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and confusion.
Recognizing that an outright ban on scented products would be next to impossible to enforce, Town staff presented a report at the January 25 General Committee meeting recommending an education campaign to encourage people to go scent-free when visiting public facilities. Councillors agreed.
So what does that mean for you? Do your best to not use scented shampoo, conditioner, soap or body wash, deodorant, body sprays, perfumes, cologne, lotion, hair styling products, and cosmetics if you know you’ll be visiting a municipal building. Or, since people with chemical sensitivities can be found just about everywhere, consider switching most or all of your personal, laundry and cleaning products to fragrance-free varieties. Then we all can breathe a little easier.
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Paul D. Rae says
This is excellent news for me! I have had a problem with cologne and perfume abuse for years. For some reason the general population has been convinced that they need to smell like something other than themselves. Going to a public event, restaurant, movie, or any public space can be tricky for someone that has a sensitivity to these artificial cocktails that generate billions of dollars in revenue. It’s difficult to enjoy yourself when you get a pounding headache and blurred vision. The next time you pick up that bottle of toxic waste and spray yourself down remember not everyone in the room is going to be happy about the way you smell. Also keep in mind that it’s compounded because you’re not the only one flaunting their signature scent multiply that by the number of people in the room and you have a very toxic environment for people like myself. If you have good personal hygiene trust me you smell just fine! Thank you for letting me RANT!