MN: Lawmaker Wants Scent-Free Schools

Breitbart ^ | 3/10/08 | MARTIGA LOHN

[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.

[muawiyah]

Used to be scents were drowned out by tobacco smoke.

[muawiyah]

The "odor of roses" is, in fact, a powerful allergen. Another source of the same allergen is frequently found in Vitamin C tablets made from rosehips.

Apple peels can cause problems to those susceptible.

[bannie]

"We really don't think it's a good idea to legislate personal hygiene,"

If we do, can we do something about the smell of seventh period on a warm day--at a school that doesn't have gym showers?

[Ditter]

I think people are more willing to speak up now when a scent is choking them. I know I am. In the past I would just hold my nose and leave the area but not anymore.

[Eric Blair 2084]

You love Big Brother. Just admit it.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Big Brother, Nanny State, Grant Junkie, Bogus Study, Junk Science, Social Engineering, Egalitarian, Central Planning, Sheeple Control, Health Nazi, Socialism, Collectivism

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[ThomasThomas]

Jr High School is one of the last places left where you can do stupid stuff and not suffer for it the rest of your life. Go back and look at your Jr. High yearbook. This is the reason we have Jr. High. there too big and smelly ( with or with out help from a spray can) to put in grade school and too stupid to put with all those smart high schoolers.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[BigCinBigD]

Two words.....Fire hose.

[IIntense]

I've gotten to where I hesitate to wear any scent!

No matter WHAT we do, somebody's not going to like it, but I think we have to use some common sense, even when it comes to colognes and aftershave lotions. For some reason, the one who uses them isn't as aware of the scent as others are. A little bit goes a long way.

A few years back, e.g., the bedroom reeked of the cologne my husband had recently applied. While I am not allergic, the fumes were nevertheless sickening.

My personal decision is not to wear any fragrance to a doctor's office or to the beauty salon or around someone who is allergic, e.g.; but, PLEASE, we don't need another PC law on this subject!

[IIntense]

I told him he is saving himself for marriage.

I wonder what his thought was on hearing this. Do 12-year-old boys even think about this? LOL

Anyway, you and your husband have your work cut out for you for the next 8+ yrs. We have to be equally concerned about our single sons and daughters if a pregnancy occurs. The boys and young men will also pay a heavy price. They need to be fully informed of all the pitfalls.

All the best to you.

[IIntense]

Life is certainly not fair, is it?

[joebuck]

I’m so square I’ve still got a bottle of Brut in the bathroom closet. LOL

[timm22]

On all the smoking ban threads we like to joke around about banning perfumes or unwashed armpits. Until now I always thought it was an amusing way to illustrate the absurdity of the nanny-state mentality.

But now people are actually proposing this. And not just the crazy street people ranting in public parks and under highway off-ramps. Our elected officials are proposing this garbage.

This has got to be a nightmare. We can't even draw silly comparisons now for fear that some idiot legislator is going to take the suggestion seriously and try to pass a law.

[wastedyears]

Certainly isn’t

[IIntense]

Remember? It was predicted. BUT, don't blame the prediction for the idiocy. See it as the expected next step in PC control.

Let's take bets on what inanities will be next.

No, politicians' lies will not be banned. Uninformed and/or disinterested voters won't be turned away at the polls. The "blue dress" president won't be banned from the WH.

OK, here's one. All public schools MUST be equipped with swimming pools to accommodate their swim team. All residents must pay for these pools.

Help me out here! What's next on the PC agenda?

[badgerlandjim]

bump

[ichabod1]

What do you mean by sing with? I sing in choirs, and scents are a big nono. Chokes up the other singers.

[ichabod1]

Yeah I used to be in love with a girl that used Enjoli. I’d recognize that in an instant.

[ichabod1]

Right. This discussion of scents is interesting but...

They say that just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be done. I would say that just because something should be done doesn’t mean the legislature should do it.