While more than a third of French households still use gas for cooking, a study indicates that gas stoves are responsible for the premature deaths of 36,000 people each year in Europe.
An alarming observation. If outdoor air pollution is often singled out as being the most harmful to health, that emitted inside homes is just as harmful. These are, in essence, the conclusions of a study published in October 2024 by the Jaume I University and the University of Valencia, in Spain. For the first time, these Iberian researchers analyzed the risks linked to the emission of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from gas stoves.
According to them, exposure to NO2 in homes is responsible for 36,000 premature deaths in Europe each year, and a reduction in life expectancy of around two years. A number of deaths “twice as high as those linked to car accidents”, points out the British daily The Guardian.
“The phasing out of cooking gas is essential to advance the EU’s priorities on promoting health, improving air quality and phasing out fossil fuels,” he said. its side declared the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) in a press release published on October 28.
France, particularly at risk
To achieve these results, scientists cross-referenced existing health studies with nitrogen dioxide readings in European homes. France is one of the five most affected countries in the Old Continent. Indeed, almost a third of French people (31.7%) cook with gas according to a study carried out jointly between the French association Respire and the NGO CLASP in 2023.
Worse, more than half of French households (53%) exceed the daily threshold recommended by the World Health Organization for exposure to nitrogen dioxide.
In the EU, one in three households uses gas cooking. In Italy, Romania, Hungary and the Netherlands, 60% of homes are equipped with this cooking method, while in the United Kingdom this figure rises to 54%.
“20% more likely to suffer from respiratory diseases”
People cooking with gas expose themselves to even more serious risks, as in addition to nitrogen dioxide, other harmful pollutants are emitted by the combustion of gas during cooking.
This is the case for carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde and fine particles.
The WHO indicates that children living in homes equipped with gas stoves are 20% more likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses.
