14 October 2023 , 06:00
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Research reveals that indoor wood stoves and fireplaces increase women’s risk of lung cancer by 43%.
According to a US study people who frequently use indoor wood heating are at a greater risk of developing lung cancer. Those who used their wood burner for more than 30 days a year had a 68% increase in the risk of lung cancer compared with those who never used wood burners.
In the UK, one in 15 women born after 1960 are expected to be diagnosed with lung cancer during their lifetimes. In the US this figure is just one in 17 women. The research came from the Sister Study, which tracks the health of 50,000 US women who had sisters with breast cancer.
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In the UK, only 4% of homes that use solid fuel rely on it as their only heating source (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Dr Suril Mehta, from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said: “The Sister Study was designed to better understand genetic and environmental risk factors for breast cancer, but it is also equipped to evaluate other health outcomes in women. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among US women. It accounts for roughly one in five cancer-related deaths in the US.”
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In the UK, only 4% of homes that use solid fuel rely on it as their only heating source. Similarly, the Sister Study homes primarily used gas or electricity for heating, with wood being mainly a secondary or tertiary heating source.
Mehta said: “Our study provides evidence that even occasional indoor wood burning from stoves and fireplaces can contribute to lung cancer in populations where indoor wood burning is not the predominant fuel source for cooking or heating inside the home.”
Prof Fay Johnston from the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, Tasmania told the Guardian: “The new results from the Sister Study provide strong evidence of the risk of living in homes heated by wood combustion. Even relatively low usage was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer.”
She added: “The message for policymakers and the public is clear. Wood heater smoke is not safe. Interventions to reduce exposure in homes and neighbourhoods should be a priority.”
This research comes as the latest revelation amidst growing concerns about wood smoke in the scientific community. In October 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified wood smoke as probably carcinogenic to humans. Though far smaller than the Sister Study and using a different methodology, an international study from 2010 found increased lung cancer risk in people who used wood and coal heating compared with those who did not.
Mehta said: “Wood smoke, from using wood-burning appliances indoors, may contain substances such as benzene, 1,3-butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other hazardous air pollutants which are known or suspected to cause lung cancer.”
In the Sister Study, gas or propane heating in stoves and fireplaces was also associated with an increased lung cancer risk, but this was far smaller than that from wood burning.
An earlier report from the Sister Study concluded that air pollution from indoor wood burning was also a widespread and potentially modifiable risk factor for breast cancer.
UK regulations state: "Burning at home, particularly with traditional house coal or wet wood, is a major source of the pollutant PM2.5 – which has been identified by the World Health Organisation as the most serious air pollutant for human health."
Much of the country now lives in smoke control areas, meaning there are restrictions on what can be burnt and the stoves that can be used. New wood-burning stove laws aim to cut the UK's emissions, with wood burners accounting for 38% of air pollution. But despite people owning cleaner burning stoves, there are still serious health problems associated with having one in your home.
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