Holy Smoke: Burning incense, candles pollute air in churches: Science News Online, Aug. 19, 2006
Incense and candles release substantial quantities of pollutants that may harm health, a detailed new study of air quality in a Roman Catholic church suggests.

Even brief exposure to contaminated air during a religious service could be harmful to some people, says atmospheric scientist Stephan Weber of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Essen, Germany. A previous study in the Netherlands indicated that the pollutants in smoke from incense and candles may be more toxic than fine-particle pollution from sources such as vehicle engines.

Now are these pollutants something that has always been in candles and incense or are they the result of using oil based wax in the candles and chemical binders in the incense.  I personally suspect the latter.   As well as the tightness of the buildings now that central air and heating have become the norm (in the US anyway).

Personally I have much more trouble with the perfume and assorted deorderants, hair sprays and such that most folks wear to church and just about everywhere else.  I’d much rather smell honest sweat or even unwashed bodys than to smell the stinkums that most folks wear.  Does make me wonder what these odors contributed to the test that was done though…