Yasmina Kattou, edited by Wassila Belhacine
More than five million French people perfume their homes with scented candles. Behind their harmless appearance, they prove to be dangerous to health. Indeed, the dyes and perfumes that are present in these candles can cause diseases.
More than five million French people use scented candles indoors. More and more of you are adopting these home fragrances since the candle market has been constantly growing for three years and its sales have even increased by more than 6% in 2021. France is in 3rd place in sales, behind the Great Britain and Germany. According to a 2017 TNS Sofres survey, 68% of scented candle users think that this practice has no effect on indoor air quality, or even can have a positive effect. However, the scented candle can be a drama for health.
Candles with pleasant scents of vanilla, lavender or clean laundry are mostly made with paraffin. When this petroleum derivative burns, acetone and benzene are released into the air.
And the consequences on the body are numerous, warns Christian Recchia. He is a doctor of internal medicine: “These candles contain dyes, perfumes which cause diseases such as respiratory intolerance, endocrine pathologies which can set in thyroid type. It does more harm than good, actually” , he explains at the microphone of Europe 1.
Natural candles are also harmful
There are soy wax candles, with natural fragrances from the city of Grasse, the cradle of French perfumery. But despite the absence of chemicals, the smoke remains dangerous. “Burning the candle causes toxins. When you have a chimney, the chimney has a nozzle which allows the toxic smoke to be evacuated. There, there is no nozzle, it is toxins that are evaporate in the room”, explains the doctor.
For users of natural candles, Christian Recchia recommends keeping a window open as long as the flame is burning.
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