Opium is a highly addictive non-synthetic narcotic that is extracted from the poppy plant, Papaver somniferum. The opium poppy is the key source for many narcotics, including morphine, codeine, and heroin.

The poppy plant, Papaver somniferum, is the source of opium. It was grown in the Mediterranean region as early as 5000 B.

C. , and has since been cultivated in a number of countries throughout the world.

The milky fluid that seeps from its incisions in the unripe seedpod of this poppy has been scraped by hand and air-dried to produce what is known as opium. A more modern method of harvesting for pharmaceutical use is by the industrial poppy straw process of extracting alkaloids from the mature dried plant (concentrate of poppy straw).

All opium and poppy straw used for pharmaceutical products are imported into the United States from legitimate sources in regulated countries. How to Know If Your Perfume Is Poisoning YouYou might think that finding out what’s in your perfume would be as easy as reading the ingredient label.

But because of laws that protect fragrance manufacturers from sharing “trade secrets,” almost every perfume sold commercially is crammed with chemicals that aren’t listed individually on the product packaging. Instead, these chemicals are simply covered by the word “fragrance” — a catchall ingredient category that really could mean anything.

Because so many ingredients included in perfume aren’t disclosed to the buyer, there are some well-founded concerns over the chemical reactions perfume can trigger in your body. The good news is that immediate, irreversible damage to your health caused by one-time use of perfume or cologne — so-called “perfume poisoning” — is rare.

But exposure to topical fragrances can trigger allergies, skin sensitivities, and cause harm over time. Let’s take a closer look at medical emergencies caused by fragrance products as well as other less serious conditions that can be related to perfume.

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