ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - None of the aromatic products that enter the Kurdistan Region have been checked for harmful ingredients, an expert told Rudaw on Sunday, adding that mixing several substances to make fragrances could result in serious health issues. “The fragrances that are brought to Kurdistan do not go through inspections, including original and fake brands,” Kawa Hamasharif, an industrial chemistry expert, told Rudaw’s Ranj Sangawi. “There are no perfume-testing devices at the border crossings and airports. If we want to test a certain kind of perfume, we need to send it to Turkey, Iran, or Basra.” Hamasharif also highlighted the danger of mixing several substances in making fragrances, a common practice in the Kurdistan Region markets, stating that it could lead to the creation of “toxic” substances, resulting in cancer or lung and respiratory diseases. “Some ingredients are used in the fragrances that are brought to Kurdistan are banned in some countries… There are fragrances imported from the UK containing the banned ingredient phthalate,” the expert added. Phthalates are used in fragrance-making to make the aroma last longer. A slower evaporation of the smell is one of the main requested qualities in aromatic products for an average customer in the Kurdistan Region. Studies have demonstrated connections between phthalates in aromatic products and breast cancer, reproductive disorders, and increased risk of asthma in children who were exposed to the chemicals during pregnancy. “There are three -year-olds with asthma due to these perfumes. There are three-year-olds with lung cancer,” Hamasharif said. Perfume sellers from Erbil and Sulaimani also raised the concern that thousands of fake fragrances are imported and sold in the Kurdistan Region as original brands. “Sometimes even big businessmen are tricked into buying counterfeit products. There are businessmen who have bought 1,000 supposedly authentic-brand perfumes, 800 of which had been fake,” said Handren Saad, an Erbil perfume seller. “There are authentic brand perfumes worth $200, but counterfeit versions of them are sold for $18 at wholesale price to the perfume sellers,” said Shkar Omar, a Sulaimani perfume seller. “The fakes are sold for $80 in some places.” Rawand Rauf, a physician specialized in gastroenterology, chest, and respiratory diseases, said that reaction to chemical compounds in aromatic products differs from one person to another. “A chemical compound in a fragrance does not necessarily have the same detriments to two different people. It is possible for the best brand products to induce allergic reactions from people,” Rauf noted. Scholars and experts have repeatedly criticized quality control of products imported to the Kurdistan Region, especially medicine and food, and called for stricter regulations. The Kurdistan Standardization and Quality Control Board in the interior ministry is responsible for inspecting all imported goods through coordination with other relevant ministries, ensuring the products’ compliance with international standards, and establishing laboratories for inspection.
