Air pollution kills many people - help stop it now

Most people who use these devices are unaware of the dangers and think that they are ecological and "green". They are unaware that there were 4000 incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning in the UK alone last year ( a very modest user wood fires) or that studies have shown that wood smoke is 12 times more dangerous than tobacco smoke, or that they are adding CO2 to the atmosphere. This due to the particles and chemicals emitted by wood smoke. Even after wood fire has stopped burning, these things are still in the air and still have a detrimental effect on health.

The World Health Org says "Nearly 2 million people a year globally die prematurely from illness attributable to indoor air pollution due to solid fuel use (2004 data). Among these deaths, 44% are due to pneumonia, 54% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 2% from lung cancer." (ref http://www.wpro.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs_201109_air_pollution/en/ )

It is all very well to say that the wood would have eventually rotted away and thereby have added to CO2 polution in the process, but they ignore the fact that this would take several years and, in the process of decaying, would have provided a habitat for many insects. And it would not contribute to particle and chemical air pollution which cause so much ill health and premature death

refer to following links

http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-fireplace-delusion

http://burningissues.org
http://woodburnersmoke.net/index.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1354387/Wood-burning-stoves-cause-cancer-heart-disease.html
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/wood-bois-eng.php
http://copd.about.com/od/livingwithcop1/a/healthhazardssofwoodstoves.htm
ww.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1354387/Wood-burning-stoves-cause-cancer-heart-disease.html
http://www.webmd.boots.com/asthma/news/20110206/open-fires-and-wood-burners-may-be-bad-for-your-health

Dave Marshall
Spain