Posted on 03/10/2008 2:53:28 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Those all-over body sprays that promise to turn teenage boys into babe magnets? Instead of attracting girls, they could be making them sick.
A Minnesota lawmaker proposed a bill Monday urging a fragrance-free educational campaign to discourage students from dousing themselves in scents that aggravate classmates with asthma and other health problems.
Odors that fill hallways come mostly from boys who douse themselves in body sprays like Axe, said Mikolai Altenberg, a senior at Minneapolis South High School. He said the smell is "indescribable" and unavoidable.
"You can smell it from 10 feet away," Altenberg said. "Mostly it's just guys who just think that putting Axe all over them is a substitute for showering."
Rep. Karen Clark, a Democrat, first proposed banning fragrances in Minneapolis schools, one of the state's largest school districts. The bill she introduced Monday scales that back to an awareness campaign in Minneapolis and in other districts that volunteer. The campaign could include letters to parents, fact sheets, signs in schools, e- mail and Web sites.
One in eight Minneapolis students has asthma, and school nurses have treated students for wheezing and headaches brought on by the fragrances wafting from classmates, said Mary Heiman, a nursing service manager who runs the district's asthma program.
An awareness campaign would mirror the approach of policies at the University of Minnesota's Disability Services office and in a recent version of the Minneapolis teachers contract.
If the awareness campaign works, it could be expanded, Clark said.
A trade group for toiletry makers, the Personal Care Products Council in Washington, said it doesn't oppose fragrance policies as long as they're voluntary.
"We really don't think it's a good idea to legislate personal hygiene," said John Hurson, the group's head of government affairs.
Rhode Island and Massachusetts are the only other states where lawmakers have proposed fragrance-free bills in the past two years, Hurson said.
What, no more 8th grade dance cologne?
{insert smells like teen spirit joke here}
I remember when I was in school If I was sitting near a girl with particularly alluring perfrume the last thing on my mind was schoolwork.
That’s something I could agree with. Axe body spray SUCKS.
When did they start letting French kids attend public school?
This would prevent a large portion of the non-native population from getting an education.
My son has asthma and he kept buying stinky men’s cologne. I explained to him that it stinks and it was driving his allergies crazy. I don’t know why they make men’s colognes so stinky. They just smell nasty. But better than bad B.O.
I use only PARIS by Yves St Laurent. Hard to find, but it is MILD. Smells faintly of roses and white wine. And I don’t use MUCH!
Brooks Brothers makes some sensible stuff at a surprisingly sensible price, but I don’t know how sensible $50 is to you.
If he wants the school to be fragance free, he should stay out of it. yuk yuk yuk
I never lost the like for the fruit scent girls wore when I was in junior high.
$50 is cheap.
Right now my son, who will be 24 this year and he is our baby, youngest of three, lives in California and I live in Texas. I can’t wait till summer when he is out of school for a few months, and he will be HERE! I miss my kids! They grew up TOO FAST!
A girl wearing “Emeraude” used to get to me. About 3 decades ago. I would still recognize it if I smelled it again.
That sounds like something I should look for. I love the scent of roses.
Sure. Ban this, but don’t ban the homosexual indoctrination in schools.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.