Gas stoves are worse for your health than you might think, but more than 40 million households in the United States still cook with them.
Dr. Scott Hadland, chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, spoke to WCVB Channel 5 Boston in 2023 about just how dangerous gas stoves are for young children.
He explained that "an eye-opening study" published in 2022 reported that as many as 1 in 8 cases of childhood asthma could be from gas stoves as well as natural gas and the pollution from burnt gas.
"When you burn natural gas, it emits nitrogen dioxide, which is a known irritant that can lead to asthma," he said. "And natural gas itself contains benzene, which is a known carcinogen."
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Pediatricians have gotten many questions from parents wondering what the connection is between gas stoves and asthma and how they can protect their children. The harms of gas stoves have been recognized since the 1970s, when the gas industry began studying the effects of gas stoves on indoor air pollution.
Newer research has established even stronger connections between childhood asthma and gas stoves, especially if kitchens are not well ventilated. Other pollutants, such as benzene, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, can also be released during cooking.
While Hadland noted that most children and adults will not experience adverse effects from gas stoves, he acknowledged the importance of proper ventilation, such as opening windows, turning on ventilation hoods, and using an electric kettle for simple things such as boiling water. Installing HEPA filters, which remove 99.97% of airborne particles such as dust, pollen, mold, and bacteria, is also a great way to prevent dangerous pollution.
But the best way to keep you and your family safe is to switch to an induction stove, which doesn't emit any pollution since it uses electromagnetism to heat cookware directly. They're also much safer for children because they turn off once you remove the pot or pan. As a bonus, they're easier to clean, and they cook food much faster than electric or gas stoves.
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If you're ready to make the switch, now is a great time since the government is offering an $840 rebate for qualified stoves via the Inflation Reduction Act. If you don't want to invest in a new cooktop, a countertop plug-in version will still do the job and can cost as little as $50.
"A portable induction cooktop is a great way to try out induction for a low cost and get used to the technology while improving indoor air quality," one user said on TCD.
"I could not be more pleased. It cooks quickly and is very fast to respond," someone else said on Reddit.
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