Wood-burning stoves have become increasingly popular across Europe in recent years, often promoted as an eco-friendly and renewable alternative to fossil fuels.
But new research suggests that using these stoves inside the home may come at a cost: a decline in lung function.
The study was presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam by Dr. Laura Horsfall, Principal Research Fellow at University College London’s Institute of Health Informatics.
Her team’s findings add to a growing body of evidence that indoor wood burning may be more harmful than many people realize.
In the UK, domestic wood burning now contributes about 20% of harmful fine particle air pollution, known as PM2.5.
These particles are tiny—less than 2.5 micrometers across—and can penetrate deep into the lungs.
For comparison, road vehicle exhaust now makes up only about 4% of the UK’s PM2.5 emissions. The shift has been dramatic: annual emissions from wood burning almost doubled between 2009 and 2023, rising from 3,200 to 6,000 metric tons.
“Wood burning at home emits harmful air pollution both indoors and outdoors, including substances we know can cause cancer,” said Dr. Horsfall. “Despite this, the number of wood stoves in use has grown rapidly since 2009.
But we still don’t fully understand the health impacts in high-income countries, where wood stoves tend to be used for lifestyle or aesthetic reasons rather than necessity.”
To explore these effects, Horsfall and her colleagues used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, which tracks the health of older adults in England.
They focused on a lung function measure called FEV₁—the amount of air a person can exhale forcefully in one second. A lower FEV₁ is linked to higher risk of conditions such as asthma, COPD, and other respiratory complications.
Studying the health impacts of wood stoves is tricky. People who use solid fuel heating in the UK are often wealthier and healthier than the average population. They smoke less and have lower rates of pre-existing lung disease. This means the negative impact of wood burning could easily be overlooked.
Even after accounting for these factors, the researchers found that people who reported using wood or other solid fuels experienced a faster decline in lung function over an eight-year period compared to non-users.
“Our study suggests that high levels of particulate matter from stoves damage respiratory tissues and trigger inflammation in much the same way as cigarette smoke,” Dr. Horsfall explained.
The team now plans to study whether people living in neighborhoods with a high concentration of stoves—such as affluent areas of London—also experience more prescriptions for inhalers or higher hospital admissions for lung disease.
Professor Ane Johannessen, an environmental health expert at the University of Bergen who was not involved in the study, said the results are significant. “We already know from studies in low- and middle-income countries that wood smoke exposure inside homes is harmful, causing asthma, COPD, and lung cancer. This research suggests that the same risks could apply in European homes, where stoves are used for lifestyle reasons.”
Although modern “eco-design” stoves are marketed as cleaner than older models, the study authors stress that even newer stoves may not be risk-free. Johannessen urged both the public and doctors to take the risks seriously.
“Doctors should be asking patients about stove use when investigating unexplained lung problems. And families should be aware that these stoves could be harming their health.”
The findings highlight a pressing need for clearer public health guidance and regulation. While wood stoves may be cozy and marketed as eco-friendly, they may also be silently damaging the lungs of those who use them most.
