Candle light dinner could lead to cancer

Perfumed candles may cause cancer, a new research from University of York, UK says so.

Professor Alistair Lewis from the University analysed the air quality inside several houses for a range of ‘volatile organic chemicals’ and the chemical found in most homes was limoncene.

Limoncene is used to give a citrus-like smell in candles, air fresheners and body sprays. When released into the air, limoncene reacts with ozone to produce formaldehyde, a carcinogenic.

Earlier, researchers in the US had found that chemicals emitted from burning candles included toluene and benzene, both carcinogenic (cancer producing) as well as leading to asthma.

Dr. Amid Hamidi of South Carolina University, who led the study, showed that paraffin-based candles do not reach high enough temperatures when being burned to destroy the hazardous chemicals they emit. ‘An occasional paraffin candle and its emissions will probably not affect you,’ he said. ‘But lighting many of them every day for years, or lighting them frequently in an unventilated bathroom, for example, may cause problems.’

The Dutch scientists shocked the world a few years ago by their research when they measured the air particles in churches that burned candles for up to nine hours at a time. They found that the damaging free radicals (chemicals that cause cancer) were 10 times more in the air inside the church than beside a busy motor highway.

The black soot particles that emanate from burning candles can penetrate the deepest parts of the lung and, as such, have the potential to aggravate respiratory illness.

An online survey carried out by Asthma UK in December 2010 found that scented candles were items that worsened asthma in 25 percent of respondents.

In addition, the fire service and insurance companies claim candles and tealights are among the leading cause of house fires in the UK.

Experts at the British Lung Foundation say that occasional use of candles is unlikely to cause problems, but that it is sensible to light them only in well-ventilated rooms and for short periods of time.

Be careful and avoid scented candles. Also do not overuse air fresheners or body sprays just because you like them…they could damage your health.