New research has linked the use of gas stoves to hundreds of deaths each year in New Zealand.
The report, published by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, also linked pollutants from gas stoves to more childhood asthma cases and hundreds of hospitalizations for respiratory and cardiovascular issues. Stuff summarized the findings and added that some industry groups disputed them.
In all, the authors found that the use of 360,000 gas stoves was associated with 208 premature deaths in adults over 30 each year. Other health outcomes modeled by the study included 236 cardiovascular hospitalizations, 775 respiratory hospitalizations, and 3,230 asthma cases in people under 18.
Gas stoves release indoor air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, benzene, and methane, and this is not the first research to raise concern about their health impacts. For instance, a 2022 study found that 12.7% of current childhood asthma in the United States is attributable to gas stove use.
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Another study found that Americans living in homes with gas stoves are exposed to nitrogen dioxide levels higher than what the World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency consider safe.
Colorado recently became the first U.S. state to require cigarette-style health warnings on these appliances, though industry groups have pushed back with a lawsuit.
In addition to the health consequences of gas stoves, they're also contributing to the overheating of our planet — the burning of gas, oil, and coal together accounts for more than three-quarters of planet-heating pollution, according to the United Nations.
Induction stoves are one option that can help consumers avoid these health and planetary costs, and they even cook food faster, saving you time in the kitchen. You can take advantage of an $840 discount on induction ranges through 2025.
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As for the New Zealand-based report, author Dr. Nick von Randow, a public health medicine specialist and former chief clinical advisor for the Ministry of Health, said their numbers were lower than those of other international studies.
In the Stuff report, Von Randow added: "The harms of air pollution extend beyond the set of outcomes modeled — it should be emphasized in any dissemination of this report's findings that the estimates presented are essentially a minimum 'floor' for health harms and costs associated with indoor air pollution."
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