Gas stoves kill 40,000 Europeans per year

For a long time we preferred to ignore the dangers of gas stoves. This is no longer the case.

Stoves that burn fossil gas

It is a household appliance that we use every day without even thinking about it. And yet, it would reduce our lifespan by almost two years! If we are to believe a report published on October 28(1), 40,000 Europeans die each year due to pollutants emitted by a gas stove.

On average, one in three households cook with gas in European Union countries. And even 60% in certain countries such as Italy. However, by burning fossil gas, they release harmful substances associated with heart and lung diseases. Not only nitrogen dioxide, but also benzene and carbon monoxide.

The danger of exposure to N02

The researchers were able to precisely measure how this gas cooking could increase indoor air pollution(1), compared to outdoors, and even map this harmful exposure to NO2, nitrogen dioxide, to interior of homes. According to the results of this study, the use of a gas stove in your home could reduce a person's life expectancy by almost two years. And this mainly due to exposure to N02.

All they then had to do, to quantify the number of lives shortened, was to apply to the result the risk rate of contracting diseases linked to other studies concerning outdoor NO2 pollution. In view of these results, the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) calls for phasing out gas stoves in homes, including by offering financial assistance, and setting emissions limits for manufacturers.

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