A recent study reveals that harmful gases emitted from gas stoves, which are associated with heart and lung diseases, can reduce an individual's life expectancy by nearly two years.

Gas stoves are responsible for approximately 40,000 premature deaths each year in Europe due to the pollutants they release into the air, according to a recent report. This figure is twice as high as the death toll from car accidents. The harmful gases emitted from these stoves are linked to severe heart and lung diseases, yet experts indicate that public awareness of the associated risks is alarmingly low. On average, the use of a gas stove reduces an individual’s life expectancy by nearly two years, based on a study conducted on households across the EU and the UK.

The severity of this issue is much greater than previously understood, stated Juana María Delgado-Saborit, the lead author and head of the environmental health research lab at Jaume I University in Spain. The research findings attributed a staggering 36,031 premature deaths annually to gas cookers in the EU, with an additional 3,928 in the UK. These estimates are likely conservative, as they only take into account the health impacts of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), excluding other harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and benzene.

Delgado-Saborit noted that as early as 1978, it was established that NO2 pollution levels in kitchens using gas are significantly higher than those in kitchens using electric stoves. However, only recently has research been able to quantify the number of lives lost due to this pollution.

Currently, one in three households in the EU uses gas for cooking, while this figure rises to 54% in the UK and exceeds 60% in countries like Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, and Hungary. Gas stoves burn fossil gas and emit harmful substances that can irritate the airways.

This report, which received support from the European Climate Foundation, builds on previous research that assessed air quality in homes and quantified how cooking with gas increases indoor air pollution. By establishing ratios between indoor and outdoor air pollution during gas cooking, researchers from Jaume I University and the University of Valencia were able to calculate exposure levels to NO2.

To estimate the number of lives lost, they applied disease risk rates sourced from studies on outdoor NO2 pollution. Steffen Loft, an air pollution expert at the University of Copenhagen who was not involved in the research, commented on the main uncertainty, which is whether the mortality risk associated with outdoor NO2 from traffic can be applied to indoor NO2 from gas cooking. He concluded that it is a reasonable assumption and essential for the assessment.

These findings align with a May study conducted in the US, which estimated that gas and propane stoves are linked to approximately 19,000 adult deaths annually. While the EU has tightened regulations regarding outdoor air quality this month, it has yet to establish standards for indoor air quality. The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) has called on policymakers to phase out gas cookers by implementing emission limits, providing financial assistance for transitioning to cleaner cooking appliances, and requiring manufacturers to disclose the pollution risks associated with their products.

Sara Bertucci from the EPHA stated, “For too long, it has been easy to dismiss the dangers of gas cookers. Like cigarettes, people didn’t consider the health impacts— and, like cigarettes, gas cookers are a little fire that fills our home with pollution.”

To mitigate exposure to fumes while cooking, individuals can take simple precautions such as opening windows and using extractor fans. Delgado-Saborit shared her personal experience, recalling how she and her husband grew up cooking on electric hobs, which are “cleaner, safer, and healthier.” They have since moved into a home with a gas stove and are currently renovating, eagerly awaiting the installation of a new electric hob in their kitchen.