Gas Stoves Linked to 40,000 Premature Deaths in EU and UK Annually: Study

Exposure from toxic pollutants associated with gas stoves is also attributable to some 41,000 annual cases of paediatric asthma in the UK and EU combined.

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Scientists have long warned of the health issues associated with gas stoves. Now, a new study has found that exposure to pollutants from gas cooking is a major source of asthma among children and premature deaths in Europe.

Funded by the non-profit European Climate Foundation and published Monday, the study found that nearly 40,000 early deaths each year in the European Union and the UK can be linked to exposure to nitrogen dioxide from burning gas for cooking indoors. The same pollutant is estimated to be linked to 41,000 annual cases of paediatric asthma across the EU’s 27 member states and the UK.

Experts have repeatedly warned about the dangers of nitrogen dioxide exposure, which can intensify responses to allergens in allergic asthmatics and lead to respiratory conditions, decreased lung function growth in children, cardiopulmonary effects and even premature deaths. In the US, a study found that 12% of current childhood asthma cases can be attributed to gas stove use.

Sources of this toxic pollutant include the combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants, and industrial processes, though it is also produced naturally during lightning strikes and forest fires. Aside from its impact on human health, nitrogen dioxide can react in the atmosphere to form other pollutants like ozone and particulate matter, contributing to smog and poor air quality.

While some national and local governments, in Europe and elsewhere, have started exploring alternatives, natural gas is still widely used for cooking and heating around the world.

In 2022, 51.5% of US households used natural gas for their primary home heating fuel and some 49% used it for cooking. 60-70% of homes across four states – New Jersey, California, Illinois, and New York – cook with gas. 

In the same year, 33% of European households used gas stoves for cooking, though usage varies greatly by country. According to the study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, Italy, Poland, Romania, France and the UK have the highest mortality rates for nitrogen dioxide exposure. The same countries, plus the Netherlands and Spain, also record the highest number of paediatric asthma cases every year.

While still more economically convenient than cleaner alternatives for households, the health and environmental costs of gas stoves put a heavy burden on countries. The study found that paediatric asthma associated with gas cooking cost the EU and the UK combined some €4 billion (US$4.327 billion) annually. The estimated cost of premature deaths related to gas cooking in the region is even higher at approximately €160 billion, with Italy incurring the highest cost – €54 billion – as a single country.

“There is about 50 years of health studies showing that gas stoves are bad for our health, and the strongest evidence is on children and children’s asthma,” Brady Seals, a manager in the carbon-free buildings program at the non-profit clean energy group RMI and a co-author of the study, told Bloomberg Green. “By having a gas connection, we are polluting the insides of our homes.”

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