Comment by drusenko
You’re missing my point entirely. VOCs and PM2.5 are bad for you no doubt, which means this study is showing that these non combustible scented candles are producing measurable levels of dangerous indoor air pollution — we’re all in agreement there. That’s not at all what I meant by common sense and my comment was in no way intended to be a defense of scented products.
But the headline says “Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust”. This is not supported by the study. PM2.5 and VOCs are not the only forms of indoor air pollution. Combustion produces other deleterious byproducts that negatively impact human health.
Run a car in your garage for a day and run scented candle and tell me which is worse for you. That is what I mean by common sense.
I'm supposing that when people say "pollution" they most readily mean the PM and the VOC.
I highly doubt that if you were in a room that had /only/ a high concentration of CO would you describe it as "polluted."
Additionally any gas which displaces oxygen is lethal in a confined space. Shall we expand "pollution" to include those as well? Is nitrogen a "pollutant?"