A recent study by scientists at Jaume I University in Spain has found that nearly 40,000 early deaths each year in the European Union and the United Kingdom can be linked to exposure to nitrogen dioxide from burning gas for cooking indoors, according to Bloomberg Business. Researchers mapped indoor exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and applied risk rates of disease, sourced from studies on outdoor NO₂ pollution, to calculate the number of lives lost.
Gas stoves emit nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, which are harmful gases linked to respiratory diseases and premature mortality. The researchers found that the use of gas stoves is also linked to hundreds of thousands of cases of asthma among children in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The death toll from gas stoves is twice as high as that from car crashes in Europe, with over 40,000 people in Europe dying each year on average due to pollution from domestic gas, including 12,706 Italians, according to The Guardian.
Italy is particularly affected, with more than 60% of households cooking with gas, making it the country where gas stoves kill more people than anywhere else in Europe, as reported by La Repubblica.
"In Italy, lives are shortened, on average, by just under a year due to gas stove pollution," the study states. The problem is especially severe in countries where gas cooking is common, such as the United Kingdom, Romania, Poland, and Italy.
Juana María Delgado-Saborit, the lead author of the study, stated: "From a public health perspective, gas stoves are toxic," reflecting the urgent need for awareness and action.
"Already in 1978, it was discovered that pollution from NO₂ is many times higher in kitchens using gas stoves compared to electric ones," she is cited by La Repubblica.
"We are now in the midst of some home improvements and I am counting the days for having a new electric hob fitted in my kitchen," Delgado-Saborit added.
"Knowing this, governments should take the initiative to help us stop using gas, just as they helped us stop smoking," she concluded.
The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) has urged policymakers to phase out gas cookers by setting limits on emissions and to offer money to help switch to cleaner cookers. The EPHA is also calling for mandatory labels on stoves to signal pollution risks and for awareness campaigns on the dangers of burning fuels in enclosed spaces. Sara Bertucci from the EPHA said, "For too long it has been easy to dismiss the dangers of gas cookers. Like cigarettes, people didn't think much of the health impacts—and, like cigarettes, gas cookers are a little fire that fills our home with pollution," according to The Guardian.
Bertucci added: "Gas stoves are a small fire that fills our home with pollution. The real impacts are probably greater than those predicted in this study," as reported by La Repubblica.
Steffen Loft, an air pollution expert at the University of Copenhagen who was not involved in the research, said, "The main uncertainty is whether the risk of dying found with outdoor NO₂ from mainly traffic can be applied to indoor NO₂ from gas cooking. But it is a fair assumption and required for the assessment," as reported by The Guardian.
The study has not yet undergone peer review, and the authors urged caution in interpreting its results due to limited data. They applied risk rates of disease, sourced from studies on outdoor NO₂ pollution, to work out the number of lives lost. People can partly protect themselves from fumes when cooking by opening windows and turning on extractor fans. The researchers recommend ventilating the room well when using gas stoves and considering switching to an electric alternative.
The European Union will propose new regulations for gas stoves by the end of the year and is considering restrictions on pollution, including that from NO₂, according to La Repubblica.
. The European Public Health Alliance is urging European institutions "to phase out gas stoves through emission limits combined with financial incentives to switch to cleaner stoves."
The EU tightened its rules on outdoor air quality this month but has not set standards for indoor air quality, which the EPHA emphasizes is urgently needed to prevent deaths.
"Considering the general impact of gas, benzene, formaldehyde, and particulate matter, it is estimated that gas kitchens could cause 367,000 cases of childhood asthma and 726,000 cases in all age groups in Europe each year," The authors of the study concluded.
Sources: Bloomberg Business, The Guardian, РБК, kp.ru, Российская газета, Izvestia.ru, La Repubblica.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq