Some of these professionals, many of whom are involved in the aromatherapy industry in some manner, debunk, others lightly chastise and make recommendations.  If you know of any other sources, please email me.

Martin Watt on Safety and Other Issues Debunking of AT found in the "Articles" link. Martin, previously a co-author of "The Practitioner's Manual of Aromatherapy", decided that the con artists, non-scientists, fairy tale authors and just-plain-quacks and has devoted much time and energy in putting sensible information out there for the consumer and aromatherapists alike. Hope all of you will listen, Martin Watt's credentials and motives can't be questioned. Like this site, he has many subpages, and most of his are worth of printing out a hard copy, for study.

Tony Burfield's Bollocks Page He focuses on bad science, technical errors and minutiae. Very good for its insistence on correct chemical names. Please visit Tony's homepage to view his extensive vitae in the perfumery and aromatherapy fields.

Skeptical Inquirer-- A journalist looks at the claims. Balanced article, makes challenges, acknowledges aromachology. However, according to a good source, " she falls into the trap so common with modern scientists, which is if they can't find the information they need on databases they presume it does not exist.  They forget essential oils were used by doctors and nurses for around two hundred years. Effects, side effects and doses are well recorded on a limited number of common oils if you know which books to look in.  These are NOT on any computer databases."

New Scientist Article and Discussion -- The U.K.-based journal New Scientist published a debunking article on AT recently, and it started a good, healthy discussion about the shortcomings of AT research. A post from the idma list that includes the New Scientist article is included here.

Aroma Vera Lost a Lawsuit about False Claims   -- A bit shocking, since Aroma Vera is one of the oldest, best-known aromatherapy companies in America.  This information about the lawsuit is on Quackwatch, a very biased anti-alternative medicine site, but the facts are right. Interesting reading.  A link on this page gives the court decision.

Pseudoscience.com  --  links to several articles debunking AT

Gary Young debunked  -- Graham Sorensen provides a great informational resource for the AT community, and the general public at large by archiving the Gary Young files in zip format. Young's Living Oils, a Multilevel Marketing scam that promotes the unsafe use of essential oils, is promoted by a man with false credentials, a history of fraud,  and a now-closed Mexican clinic. Based in Utah, Young is the target of conscientious aromatherapy practitioners because of the dangerous (neat) use of the oils that he promotes.  Please visit the rest of Graham's site. I personally do not endorse the uses and suppliers he lists, but I have to admit he has put years of effort and information into the site, and the encyclopedic information found there can be valuable (taken with a grain of salt :-)

Quackwatch  -- More on Gary Young  -- lots of good details on his life and business, including the best article to date by Dr. Eva Briggs, MD.