Pollution caused by using gas stoves indoors kills almost 4,000 Britons every year, a Spanish study suggests.
Gas stoves have been known for years to produce high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gas potentially harmful to humans.
Now researchers from the Universitat Jaume I have calculated that indoor pollution from cooking with gas causes almost 40,000 premature deaths in Europe.
Britain accounts for 3,928 of this total, and along with Italy, Poland, Romania and France are the countries most affected in terms of these premature deaths.
The researchers said indoor pollution caused by gas stoves was particularly serious in homes with poor ventilation and during long cooking hours.
However, throughout the study, dangerous levels of NO2 breaching World Health Organization guidelines were found in the average home in 14 European countries, including Britain.
Researchers also estimated that exposure to pollutants emitted by cooking gas contributes to nearly 370,000 cases of childhood asthma across the continent.
The authors also warned that their findings could be an underestimate, as data were lacking on how exposure to some of the other substances emitted by gas stoves could harm human health.
Gas stoves are known to produce high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which can be harmful to human health, but experts have so far been unable to explain the human cost.
Lead author of the study, Dr. Juana María Delgado-Saborit, said: “Back in 1978, we discovered for the first time that NO2 pollution is many times higher in gas stoves than in electric stoves.
“But only now will we be able to calculate the number of lives that are being shortened.
‘The magnitude of the problem is much worse than we thought, and our modeling suggests that the average household in half of Europe breaches WHO limits.
“Outdoor air pollution is the basis for these violations, but it is gas stoves that push homes into the danger zone.”
NO2 is a well-established pollutant that can harm human health by inflaming the airways of the lungs, and long-term exposure affects organ and heart function.
However, most studies have examined the impact of NO2 exposure in terms of outdoor pollution, such as emissions from cars that use fossil fuels, not what people may be exposed to in their own homes.
An estimated one-third of European households cook with gas and, given the number of people across the continent, stay indoors during the coldest month in homes specifically designed to be as airtight as possible to retain heat.
This, the authors suggested, means that their findings could have important implications for the health of people in these countries.
Researchers also estimated that exposure to pollutants emitted by gas cooking contributes to nearly 370,000 cases of childhood asthma across Europe.
The authors arrived at their figure of 40,000 premature deaths by comparing the known risks of indoor air pollution from gas stoves established by previous research with government data to scale it up to the continent-wide total.
This study was carried out in cooperation with the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), a non-profit organization that campaigns for EU action.
The body is calling on Brussels to phase out gas stoves, giving people financial incentives to switch to electric ones and also labeling the appliances with health warnings.
Sara Bertucci, EPHA’s global public health policy director, said: ‘For too long it has been easy to dismiss the dangers of gas cookers.
‘Like cigarettes, people didn’t think much about the health impacts and, like cigarettes, gas stoves are a small fire that fills our home with pollution.
“The true impacts are likely to be greater than those predicted in this study. Knowing this, governments should take the initiative to help us give up gas, just as they helped us give up cigarettes.’