Abstract
In Asian countries where the Buddhism and Taoism are mainstream religions, incense burning is a daily practice. A typical composition of stick incense consists of 21% (by weight) of herbal and wood powder, 35% of fragrance material, 11% of adhesive powder, and 33% of bamboo stick. Incense smoke (fumes) contains particulate matter (PM), gas products and many organic compounds. On average, incense burning produces particulates greater than 45 mg/g burned as compared to 10 mg/g burned for cigarettes. The gas products from burning incense include CO, CO2, NO2, SO2, and others. Incense burning also produces volatile organic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, and xylenes, as well as aldehydes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The air pollution in and around various temples has been documented to have harmful effects on health. When incense smoke pollutants are inhaled, they cause respiratory system dysfunction. Incense smoke is a risk factor for elevated cord blood IgE levels and has been indicated to cause allergic contact dermatitis. Incense smoke also has been associated with neoplasm and extracts of particulate matter from incense smoke are found to be mutagenic in the Ames Salmonella test with TA98 and activation. In order to prevent airway disease and other health problem, it is advisable that people should reduce the exposure time when they worship at the temple with heavy incense smokes, and ventilate their house when they burn incense at home.
Highlights
Encyclopedia Britannica states that incense was employed to counteract disagreeable odors, drive away demons, manifest the presence of gods, and to gratify gods
In order to determine whether indoor environmental factors affected respiratory dysfunction, Yang et al have surveyed 4,164 elementary school children in several rural areas in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. They found that, among the other chemical factors, incense burning and mosquito repellant burning were significantly associated with cough symptoms [59]
Incense burning did not affect lung cancer risk among non-smokers, but it significantly reduced risk among smokers, even after adjusting for lifetime smoking amount. They suggested a likely explanation for this unexpected finding: incense burning was associated with certain dietary habits, i.e. more fresh fish, more retinol, and less alcohol, which have been associated with lower lung cancer risk in this population
Summary
Encyclopedia Britannica states that incense was employed to counteract disagreeable odors, drive away demons, manifest the presence of gods, and to gratify gods. In their study of the association of indoor and outdoor environmental exposures and physician-diagnosed asthma, Lee et al surveyed 35,036 6- to 15-year-old school children in Taiwan They reported that daily cigarette consumption in families and incense burning at home showed negative effects to the occurrence of childhood asthma. They suggested a likely explanation for this unexpected finding: incense burning was associated with certain dietary habits, i.e. more fresh fish, more retinol, and less alcohol, which have been associated with lower lung cancer risk in this population Their results indicate http://www.clinicalmolecularallergy.com/content/6/1/3 that diet can be a significant confounder of epidemiological studies on air pollution and respiratory health [64]. They reported that, while occupational exposures to asbestos and working as a cook were significant risk factors associated with adenocarcinoma of the lung, an inverse association between incense burning and the adenocarcinoma was noted [85]
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