Re: 99P-1340 -- Petition to Have Eternity eau de parfum declared "Misbranded"

Dear FDA Staff:

Petition 99P-1340 was filed in May 1999 (we all get a clue as to its age, thanks to its docket number, assigned by the Food and Drug Administration). Time has passed. Just what will the FDA do with all of the complaints and documentation from the public, doctors and researchers? Included are members of the public who not only have been users of fragrances, but also people who have not used fragrances because their body has had adverse reactions. These folks become users nonetheless, by the very nature of these volatilizing chemical concoctions that are inhaled and also absorbed through skin and eyes (Milqvist).

I got to thinkin' . . .

Recipe for our "hidden" disabilities -- TAKE a goodly measure of fake lab tests, otherwise touted by the many facets of the chemical industry as 'SOUND SCIENCE' or 'SCIENCE-BASED EVIDENCE' (see story below).

ADD a good dose of industry assurances of safety, e.g., "In a triumph for science-based evidence over scare tactics, an independent panel reviewing the safety of phthalates in cosmetics has concluded that these compounds can continue to be used safely in high-quality cosmetics and personal care products. ... [Phthalates] 'are safe for use in cosmetic products in present practices of use and concentration.' " http://www.phthalates.org/mediacenter/pep_2002_11_19.html

ADD the fact that mainstream medical doctors are NOT adequately trained to recognize chemical poisonings from pesticides and/or fragrances -- National Strategies for Health Care Providers: Pesticides Initiative -- FACT SHEET http://www.neetf.org/Health/Initiative%20Factsheet0408.pdf

" The Need:
"Although environmental health risks are a leading cause of illness and death, the average health professional receives minimal environmental training. Even when environmental factors are identified as a source of a health problem, there is often little knowledge about how to address or prevent the problem. A study has shown that 75% of medical schools require only about seven hours of study in environmental medicine over four years (1994). (1)ÝÝ ..." 1. Schenk, M., S.M. Popp, A.V. Neale, and R.Y. Demers, 1996. „Environmental medicine content in medical school curricula.¾ Academic Medicine, Vol. 71, No. 5, May.

ADD a heaping amount of "Never Measure, Never Manage" attitude

STIR IN the damning and damaging ramifications of the chemical industry's Environmental Illness Briefing Paper of 1990 http://ehnca.org/www/books/cmaeibri.htm, along with the promulgations of doctors who are inadequately trained to diagnose chemical injuries; then

BREW IT UP for the past couple-three decades by stultifying the already chemically injured and writing prescriptions for diagnoses not adequately trained to make . . .

SERVE UP millions of people too soon chronically ill and/or disabled, and too many others too soon dead.

There's your recipe for the answers to a lot of our "experts" one-word, non-explanation explanations,"UNEXPLAINED,' when they are queried about the escalating rates for our various environmental illnesses.

-- barb wilkie www.ehnca.org

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barb's views reflect only her opinion and do not necessarily reflect those of the Environmental Health Network or its boards.

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Do you suffer asthma, sinusitis, migraines, leaky beaky?

Have you discovered that no matter what you do to follow doctor's orders to clean away those dreaded dust mites, you still have asthma, et al.?

Think about all of the modern fragrances that enter your life through personal care, as well as cleaning and maintenance products, AND "environmental enhancements."

Fragrances are made with toxic chemical formulations by an unregulated industry. They are at best "irritants" and "sensitizers" capable of causing or triggering asthma, and at worse may cause central and autonomic nervous system disorders, cancers and birth defects. WHERE IS THE RESEARCH????

See EHN's FDA Petition requesting the FDA require warning labels - the regulations exist, the FDA doesn't enforce them! http://www.ehnca.org/www/FDApetition/bkgrinfo.htm

Reference "Docket Number 99P-1340" and tell the FDA about illness you suffer because of fragrances.

E-mail: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov