Clean Air is the True Luxury

Percentages shown on the page above are rounded to the nearest whole number. Exact values from each study appear in the references below.

1. Steinemann, A. (2019). “International prevalence of fragrance sensitivity.” Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 12, 891–897. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-019-00699-4 Nationally representative population surveys across four countries, including the United States (US), Australia (AU), United Kingdom (UK), and Sweden (SE), (n = 1137; 1098; 1100; 1100, respectively. Total n = 4435), found that, 32.2% of adults (34.7%, 33.0%, 27.8%, 33.1%, respectively) report adverse health effects from fragranced consumer products. Surveys were conducted in 2016/2017. Each country sample was representative by age, gender, and region, with a 95% confidence level and 3% margin of error. These surveys measured self-reported effects; they do not establish the cause of an individual symptom. The autistic-adult subgroup was relatively small. ↩
2. Steinemann, A., & Goodman, N. (2019). “Fragranced consumer products and effects on asthmatics: an international population-based study.” Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 12, 643–649. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-019-00693-w "...across the four countries, 26.0% of adults (n = 1151) are asthmatic, reporting medically diagnosed asthma (15.8%), an asthma-like condition (11.1%), or both. Among these asthmatics, 57.8% report adverse health effects, including asthma attacks (25.0%), respiratory problems (37.7%), and migraine headaches (22.6%), from exposure to fragranced products." ↩
3. Steinemann, A. (2021). "The fragranced products phenomenon: air quality and health, science and policy." Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 14, 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-020-00928-1 "Among vulnerable sub-populations, the prevalence of fragrance sensitivity is higher. For instance, 57.8% of asthmatic individuals and 75.8% of autistic individuals report adverse effects from fragranced products." ↩
4. Wagner, H., & Klaschka, U. (published online 2025; version of record 2026). “Forced isolation by invisible barriers: international survey on the effects of fragrances on the quality of life.” Environmental Sciences Europe, 38, article 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-025-01259-7 This targeted international survey included 3,152 adults from 48 countries who self-identified as fragrance-sensitive. It examined reported symptoms, underlying conditions, coping strategies, social participation, and quality of life. "Results: On average, every fragrance sensitive person in this survey associates almost ten health symptoms with fragrance exposure, the most frequent ones being cognitive problems, migraine/headaches, mucous membrane problems and breathing problems. More than a third (37.47%) of the survey participants indicate that they have experienced a physical breakdown due to heavy exposure to fragrances. Almost half of the respondents (48.92%) report that their fragrance sensitivity was the reason why they lost their job. Nearly 70% (68.31%) of survey participants indicate that they are excluded from social life almost completely or very strongly, and nearly two thirds (62.53%) indicate that they are forced into increasing isolation almost completely or very strongly. Around three quarters (76.84%) of survey participants state that fragrance exposure affects their quality of life strongly or takes away any quality of life completely." Page 13 of 21: "The situation for medical services is especially critical: Less than 10% of the participants have made the experience that there are fragrance-free clinics (5.65%) or medical practices (9.68%) in their region." Because this survey specifically recruited fragrance-sensitive people, its results should not be generalized to the broader population. ↩