They are a trendy and effective way to keep your home warm and inviting during the winter months.
But wood-burning stoves could increase the risk of Britain’s deadliest form of cancer, research has shown.
The home heating appliances that have become a popular fixture in middle-class homes have been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer.
They are also said to be one of the leading causes of harmful air pollutants in British cities.
It comes as new research today found that wood-burning stoves are now the biggest source of toxic PM2.5 particles in Britain.
“Household burning of wood and other fuels” was responsible for almost a third of all PM2.5 emissions in 2022, the report found.
These particles are too small to be filtered out by our nose and lungs, which can process larger particles such as pollen.
Studies have long suggested that PM2.5 particles can enter the bloodstream, where they can cause serious diseases such as heart disease and lung cancer.
The home heating appliances, which have become a popular fixture in middle-class homes, are believed to be one of the main sources of harmful air pollutants in British cities
According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) report, the only source of PM2.5 emissions that has increased since 2003 is domestic combustion.
A meta-analysis Seventeen separate studies found that an increase in exposure to PM2.5 increased the risk of lung cancer by eight percent and death from the disease by 11 percent.
The Chinese researchers also found that lung cancer deaths associated with PM2.5 were highest in North America, where the risk increased by 15 percent.
Asia and Europe followed with an increase of 12 and 5 percent respectively.
Meanwhile, the incidence of lung cancer associated with PM2.5 was greatest in Asia, with an increased risk of nine percent.
North America and Europe followed with increases of six and three percent respectively.
One last year American study It has also been found that using a wood-burning stove or fireplace indoors increases women’s risk of developing lung cancer by 43 percent, compared to women who don’t.
Researchers, who followed more than 50,000 Americans, also found that people who used their wood stove more than 30 days a year saw their risk of lung cancer increase by 68 percent.
Dr. Suril Mehta, co-author and scientist from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said: ‘Our study provides evidence that even incidental indoor wood burning via stoves and fireplaces may contribute to lung cancer in populations where indoor wood burning is not possible. the main fuel source for indoor cooking or heating.’
Lung cancer affects around 50,000 people in Britain and 230,000 in the US each year.
It is the biggest cancer killer in the world. It is notoriously difficult to diagnose and often appears later when it is more difficult to treat.
Figures show that four out of five patients die within five years. Less than 10 percent of people survive their disease for ten years or more.
Despite progress, an inequality is emerging between the sexes: lung cancer is diagnosed more often in women between the ages of 35 and 54 than in men in the same age group.
Toxins generated by burning wood have long been linked to a range of lung and heart problems, including asthma and delayed lung development in children.
Domestic combustion, which includes wood burning, also contributed to a third of Britain’s total PM2.5 emissions in 2021: airborne particles that are invisible to the human eye and can enter the blood and penetrate deeply can penetrate the lungs.
It comes after new research today warned that wood-burning stoves are now the biggest source of PM2.5 in Britain.
The Institute of Fiscal Studies report also found that three-quarters of household combustion emissions of PM2.5 came from wood burning in 2022.
Symptoms of lung cancer are often not noticeable until the cancer has spread through the lungs to other parts of the body
It said: ‘The three biggest sources of primary PM2.5 in Britain are domestic burning of wood and other fuels (29 per cent of total PM2.5 emissions in 2022), road transport (17.9 per cent of total PM2.5 emissions). in 2022), and industrial processes and product use (16.5 percent of total PM2.5 emissions in 2022), such as construction and steel production.
‘The only source of PM2.5 emissions that has increased over the period is domestic combustion.
‘Three quarters of household combustion emissions of PM2.5 in 2022 came from wood burning.’
Only stoves that have been officially awarded the ‘Ecodesign’ quality mark can be offered for sale in the UK and all wood for sale must be certified as ‘ready to burn’.
In August, a letter signed by more than a hundred doctors warned that toxins released when burning wood are an “invisible killer.”
In its position statement, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) urged the government ‘Phase out wood burning in urban areas, help rural residents move away from wood as a primary heating source, and support people in fuel poverty with help with fuel costs.’
It was also said to be wild to see that Ella’s law is implemented, and that the government will commit to it World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines.
Ella’s Law is named after Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi Debrah, who died in 2013 at the age of nine after a fatal asthma attack.
Ella Kissi-Debrah, nine, died in 2013, after three years of seizures and 27 hospital visits for treatment of breathing problems
A 2021 coroner’s report found that air pollution contributed to her death. She was the first person in England to have air pollution listed as a cause of death by a coroner.
Ella lived just 25 meters from a notorious pollution ‘hotspot’ on the busy South Ring Road in Lewisham, south-east London – one of the capital’s busiest roads.
Between 2010 and 2013, she suffered numerous seizures and made nearly 30 hospital visits.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed has said he will deliver on the targets of the Environment Act, which includes a target to cut PM2.5 pollution by 2040.
The target requires a maximum annual average concentration of a maximum of ten micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter.
This follows the extension of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to all London boroughs last year in a bid to further reduce pollution.