Scientists have warned that gas cookers are contributing to the early deaths of around 40,000 Europeans a year with the UK being in the top five countries for the highest early death toll.
This groundbreaking study is the first time that researchers have been able to accurately estimate premature deaths from the common kitchen appliance.
Gas cookers emit nitrogen dioxide (NO2) which can be a dangerous gas. Scientists have been aware of this for over 50 years, yet have not been able to specifically estimate the number of early fatalities until today.
Certain gas stoves have also been found to leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, even when they’re switched off.
Researchers at the University Jaume I’s School of Health Sciences in Spain have revealed the annual death toll by linking existing health studies to NO2 readings at European homes.
Their findings show that hazardous conditions have been created in 14 different countries in Europe by the mixing of gas cooker fumes and general pollution.
This combination has led to a break in the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
The lead author of the new study, Dr Juana Maria Delgado-Saborit, said: “Way back in 1978, we first learned that NO2 pollution is many times greater in kitchens using gas than electric cookers. But only now are we able to put a number on the amount of lives being cut short,
“The extent of the problem is far worse than we thought, with our modelling suggesting that the average home across half of Europe breaks WHO limits. Outdoor air pollution lays the foundation for those breaches, but it is gas cookers that push homes into the danger zone.”
The university used government datasets to increase previous health study findings to produce regional maps of indoor NO2 pollution from stoves.
These allowed researchers to calculate the first scientific estimates of premature deaths and child asthma cases from NO2 in Europe.
The countries with the highest number of deaths are Italy, Poland, Romania, France. The UK recorded 3,928 deaths.
As of 2023, 36 million people in the UK cook with gas appliances, exposing themselves to a potential early grave, according to the Collaborative Labelling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP).
CLASP’s report also reveals that indoor air pollution from gas cooking costs the country around £1.4bn annually in healthcare costs due to a greater number of illnesses and lower life expectancy.
In Europe, around-one third of homes have a gas cooker. Those that spend longer cooking or have poor ventilation have the worst pollution levels.