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They're the home-heating devices that have become a popular fixture in middle class homes.
Despite the fact that they cost around £3,000 to buy and install, 1.9 million people in Britain now have a wood burning stove in their homes.
In fact, we’re so fond of their glowing embers that an episode of a virtual fireplace was Netflix’s most-watched Christmas show in 2024.
But, burning wood is not necessarily a healthier or greener alternative to coal or gas for home heating.
Yesterday, it was revealed that wood-burning stoves could face tighter restrictions under tough new rules on air pollution set to be introduced by the Labour Government.
Environment secretary Emma Reynolds said that a new environmental improvement plan (EIP) — the first of the Starmer Cabinet — would set 'delivery plans' for targets in line with those in the EU.
The paper suggested that these could include tighter controls on certain areas, which limit the types of fuel that can be used to 'smokeless' fuels that do not release smoke out of chimneys.
These could, it was suggested, effectively amount to a ban on older appliances and, in some areas, a ban on the use of wood-burning stoves altogether.
A growing body of research has suggested that wood burning stoves are one of the main drivers of harmful air pollutants.
Studies have also found that the tiny particles — invisible to the naked eye — can make it into our lungs enter the bloodstream and are linked to a string of health problems.
So, what are the risks and if you can’t bear to part with yours, is there a way to live with it without it harming your health?
Wood burning produces a complex chemical mixture of fine particulate matter PM2.5 and other gases, which can be breathed deep into the lungs.
PM2.5 particles are so small that they can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream if inhaled, and are considered the most harmful pollutant to human health by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Last year, one study by England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty, found that even modern wood-burning stoves produced 450 times more toxic air pollution than gas central heating.
Professor Gesche Huebner, director of the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter, told the Daily Mail: 'While it's easy to see the appeal of wood burners, the reality is that these stoves release substantial amounts of fine particulate matter that harms human health, particularly affecting the lungs and heart.'
One US study found using an indoor wood stove or fireplace increases women's risk of developing lung cancer by 43 per cent compared with those that don't.
Researchers, who tracked over 50,000 Americans, also found people who used their wood burner more than 30 days a year saw their lung cancer risk increase by 68 per cent.
Another meta-analysis involving 17 separate studies, found an increase in exposure to PM2.5 raised the risk of lung cancer by eight per cent and dying from the disease by 11 per cent.
The Chinese researchers discovered lung cancer mortality associated with PM2.5 was greatest in North America, where the risk rose 15 per cent.
Toxins generated by burning wood have also long been linked to a range of lung and heart problems including asthma and stunted lung development in children.
Breathing in such particulates may too result in atherosclerosis, experts have warned.
The condition, when arteries thicken and harden from a build-up of fats, cholesterol and other substances, is common among people who have a prolonged history of smoking.
These plaques can cause arteries to narrow, block blood flow and lead to blood clots.
Over time it can get worse and cause heart disease, particularly in people who have high blood pressure and may raise the risk of heart attacks or strokes.
Campaigners and health experts have long called for tougher action, with groups pressing for wood-burners to be phased out in urban areas and new installations banned in towns and cities to protect children.
Paediatric registrar and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) clinical fellow, Dr Alice Wilson, told the Daily Mail: 'Air pollution exposure at every stage of the human lifecycle, from gestation right through to adulthood, adversely impacts health.
'RCPCH feels strongly that more must be done to phase out the use of wood-burners and raise public awareness of the health harms they cause.
'Governments and local authorities must act to protect the most vulnerable, who have the least power and resources to control their environments.'
Last year, the RCPCH also urged the Government to bring in Ella's law, and for the Government to commit to World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines.
Ella's law is named after Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi Debrah, who died in 2013 aged nine after suffering a fatal asthma attack.
A 2021 coroner's report found air pollution contributed to her death. She was the first person in England to have air pollution named as a cause of death by a coroner.
Ella lived just 80ft from a notorious pollution 'hotspot' on the busy south circular road in Lewisham, south-east London — one of the capital's busiest roads.
Between 2010 and 2013 she had numerous seizures and made almost 30 hospital visits.
Only wood burning stoves officially given the 'Ecodesign' mark are allowed for sale in the UK and any wood for sale must be certified 'ready to burn'.
Under the Government's Ready to Burn scheme, firewood sold in small amounts must have a moisture content of 20 per cent or less.
Burning damp or 'green' wood produces much more smoke and harmful particles, while dry logs burn more cleanly.
The same rules also phased out the sale of traditional house coal and required manufactured solid fuels to be low-sulphur and certified as producing little smoke.
Public Health England guidance on indoor air pollution also advises improving ventilation where possible – even cracking open a window while burning wood can reduce particle build-up indoors.
Avoid 'overfiring' — running the stove too hot — which can damage seals and release more smoke into the room.
Once installed and in use, appliances should be serviced regularly too.
The Heating Equipment Testing and Approval Scheme (HETAS) recommends once a year and to sweep the chimney at least once or twice a year depending on use.
Responding to the EIP announcement, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: 'Poor air quality robs people of their health and costs the NHS millions in extra treatments for lung conditions and asthma.
'Our new air quality targets will cut harmful particles by a third by 2030, improving the lives across the country.
'We recognise that for some households, wood burners are an important way to heat homes and our upcoming consultation will focus on tighter standards for new wood burning products to help reduce health impacts.'