Perfume: Cupid's Arrow or Poison Dart ,
http://www.prnewswire.com/Courtesy
of PR Newswire
FROM PR NEWSWIRE CHICAGO 888-776-6551
TO
BUSINESS, MEDICAL AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
Joint Release Issued by
the Cancer Prevention Coalition and the Environmental Health
Network
CHICAGO, Feb. 7 , 2000/PRNewswire/ -- The following was
released today by Samuel S. Epstein, M.D., Professor of Environmental
Medicine, University of Illinois School of Public Health, Chicago, and
Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, and Amy Marsh, President of
the Environmental Health Network, Larkspur, California:
Perfume: Cupid's Arrow or Poison Dart
Lovers looking for the perfect Valentine's gift should think
twice before giving a bottle of toxic chemicals to their sweethearts.
Recent analysis of Calvin Klein's "Eternity Eau de Parfum" (Eternity) by
an industry laboratory specializing in fragrance chemistry revealed 41
ingredients. These include some known to be toxic to the skin, respiratory
tract, nervous, and reproductive systems, and others known to be
carcinogens; no toxicity data are available on several ingredients, while
data on most are inadequate. Additionally, some ingredients are volatile
and a source of indoor air pollution. Since 1995, several consumers have
complained to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of neurological and
respiratory problems due to Eternity.
The analysis was recently commissioned by the Environmental Health
Network (EHN) as many members had complained of asthma, migraine,
sensitization, or multiple chemical sensitivity when exposed to Eternity.
Based on this analysis, EHN filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA on May
11, 1999, which was subsequently endorsed by the Cancer Prevention
Coalition. The petition requests that the FDA take administrative action
and declare Eternity "misbranded" or "adulterated" since it does not carry
a warning label as required by the terms of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act. Grounds for requesting the
warning label include FDA regulation 21CFR Sec. 740/10: "Each ingredient
used in a cosmetic product and each finished cosmetic product shall be
adequately substantiated for safety prior to marketing. Any such
ingredient or product whose safety is not adequately substantiated prior
to marketing is misbranded unless it contains the following conspicuous
statement on the principal display panel: Warning: the safety of this
product has not been determined."
Since May, over 700 consumers with health problems from exposure to
various mainstream fragrances have written to the FDA supporting EHN's
petition. The FDA responded on November 30 to the effect that they had
been unable to reach a decision on the grounds of "other priorities and
the limited availability of resources." The petition is thus still open
for further public complaints and endorsements.
A wide range of mainstream fragrances and perfumes, predominantly based
on synthetic ingredients, are used in numerous cosmetics and toiletries,
and also soaps and other household products. Currently, the fragrance
industry is virtually unregulated. Its recklessness is abetted and
compounded by FDA's complicity. The FDA has refused to require the
industry to disclose ingredients due to trade secrecy considerations, and
still takes the position that "consumers are not adversely affected -- and
should not be deprived of the enjoyment" of these products. The Cancer
Prevention Coalition and EHN take the unequivocal position that the FDA
should implement its own regulations and act belatedly to protect consumer
health and safety.
Valentine sweethearts should switch to organically grown
(pesticide-free) roses or other flowers as safe alternatives to mainstream
perfumes.
Contact: Samuel S. Epstein, M.D., Professor of Environmental Medicine,
University of Illinois, School of Public Health, Chicago, Illinois,
Chairman, the Cancer Prevention Coalition, 312-996-2297;
Website: http://www.preventcancer.com/
or Barbara Wilkie of the Environmental Health Network
P.O. Box 1155,
Larkspur, CA 94977; phone: 415.541.5075 -- message system; or e-mail: wilworks@lanminds.com
Website: http://www.ehnca.org/
or Shelley Kramer, Public
Health and Cancer Prevention Educator and Director of the Los Angeles
Chapter of the Cancer Prevention
Coalition Website: www.healthy-communications.com
mailto:Helthcom@aol.com
SOURCE Cancer Prevention Coalition and Environmental Health
Network
02/07/2000 CB-JK -- CGM063 -- 4301 02/07/2000 16:01 EST
PR Newswire: http://www.prnewswire.com/
# # # #
Visit to EHN Petitions the FDA
http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/FDApetition/bkgrinfo.htm
To view a sample letter, visit:
http://users.lanminds.com/~wilworks/FDApetition/sampletr.htm
Fragrance information can be found on the following website:
Fragranced Products Information Network
By Betty Bridges,
RN
http://www.ameliaww.com/fpin/fpin.htm
Reach us by e-mail:
Amy Marsh, President EHN
mailto:Canaryclub@aol.com
Betty Bridges, RN; EHN Advisory Board and FPIN
mailto:bcb56@ix.netcom.com
Barb Wilkie, board member, EHN
wilworks@lanminds.com
|
|
