So gas hobs are bad for you?!

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

In all the discussions about hobs/stove tops and different fuels for cooking I have never seen of even been aware of the idea that gas hobs are bad for you.

Which is kinda crazy when you consider it’s obvious you’re burning a fossil fuel in an enclosed space.
I guess this is because I’m from a generation where I remember gas was endlessly promoted as an easily controlled clean fuel.
I suppose next to coal or wood it is

The article below simply explains the particulate levels in a kitchen after cooking with gas are very high, higher than a very busy road.

This thread isn’t for the tish and pish “my mum cooked always cooked on gas and she lived to 110” type responses.
Most of us are already of an age where we feel that way about a lot of new health advice and don’t much care

But have a read of this and if you were choosing a hob again (and young enough to care about your health) would it influence your choice of hob/stove top? Would you be more likely (even if you prefer gas) to consider electric instead?

Gas hob can raise indoor air pollution higher than busy UK road, study finds

 

[TastyReuben]

That was, believe it or not, a fairly big political issue the last few years here.

I don’t take it with a grain of salt, but I also put it in perspective as a 59yo person who grew up in a house burning wood for both heat and cooking. Lots of things are bad for me, they truly are, but all that has to go into my purchasing/use decisions, along with other factors (cost, availability, reliability, ease of use).

Would I run out and replace my gas cooktop (if I had one) based on this? No. Am I inclined to buy one once we move to a new place? No.

 

[badjak]

I haven't read the study yet that you linked to, but I've seen a lot of others
My thoughts are 2-way
- houses are better insulated than they used to be, so there may be more issues
- government wants us to use more electric or induction, so we are pushed that way

 

[Barriehie]

I haven't read the study yet that you linked to, but I've seen a lot of others
My thoughts are 2-way
- houses are better insulated than they used to be, so there may be more issues
- government wants us to use more electric or induction, so we are pushed that way

Agree here with badjak Also, 50 or so years ago when you turned on the exhaust fan in a kitchen it *really* exhausted to outside. Now with more greed in the builders pocket the exhaust fan just blows it back in your face; not even a piece of ductwork going out.

My microwave, over the stovetop, has a *serious* fan in it but it just blows the top of my hair back since it's dead heading into the cabinet bottom that it's mounted under. I'm all electric but still aware of how the house was put together.

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

I like cooking on gas and I would buy another gas hob.
But not if I had children living at home, just because their health isn’t mine to waste.
I will continue to do long cooks on the hob outside rather than in the kitchen and use my extractor fan inside more often.

 

[badjak]

I do cook on gas and will continu to do so. The alternative is charcoal or wood
Mind you, my house is very well ventilated

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

That was, believe it or not, a fairly big political issue the last few years here.

I don’t take it with a grain of salt, but I also put it in perspective as a 59yo person who grew up in a house burning wood for both heat and cooking. Lots of things are bad for me, they truly are, but all that has to go into my purchasing/use decisions, along with other factors (cost, availability, reliability, ease of use).

Would I run out and replace my gas cooktop (if I had one) based on this? No. Am I inclined to buy one once we move to a new place? No.

I don’t think it’s been an issue here because England is a tiny land mass with a large population so there are bigger waste and pollution problems from congestion, industrial waste and plastic waste which take centre stage.

Oh and woodburners n wood burning stoves which are now banned in a lot of areas.

 

[TastyReuben]

I don’t think it’s been an issue here because England is a tiny land mass with a large population so there are bigger waste and pollution problems from congestion, industrial waste and plastic waste which take centre stage.

Personally, I don’t think the recent information that was released here would have gained much traction, had it not been for how politically polarized we are right now. Anything that can be used as a cudgel against “the other side” is fair game right now.

It’s really not all that new, I think. I remember when we first bought the house we have now, way back in 2004, we immediately looked at adding a natural gas fireplace (something MrsT has long wanted) and even back then, there were warnings about them affecting respiration and causing headaches in “susceptible people.”

 

[CookieMonster]

if your kitchen is the size of a shoe box, and there is no ventilation, it could be an issue if you are on death's door with a respiratory condition.

same issue with PFA. US, UK, Sweden, France all mounted extensive studies on how much PFA was on Teflon/nonstick cookware.
on hard finishes - like cookware.
only France could detect PFAs in the range of parts _per trillion_ - and they attributed that to electronic 'noise'

PFAs are/were widely used as flame retardants. the highest residual PFA levels were found on childrens' pajamas/sleepware.
so if you kid sleeps in the kitchen . . .

 

[JAS_OH1]

I have a gas stove with an electric oven and have for over 25 years in this house. If I have to replace that, I'd buy the same again.

We have vaulted ceilings in the kitchen and dining room. I don't know if that helps, but I've never noticed any air quality issues from cooking unless I burn something.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

The "study" was 4 people with a gas hob and 1 with an induction hob. Will this change my use of gas? No and I'm a severe asthmatic. I still prefer gas to cook with.

If it helps, I believe living is typically bad for your health as well. It always results in death.

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

It is only 4 people and that’s one of the most shocking things about it, that this hasn’t been properly researched.

If nitrogen dioxide levels are high and that does effect asthma (plenty of research available on that) it is IMO worth taking into consideration when choosing what fuel to cook with.

One of my friends who has bad asthma as does one of her children still uses a log burner because she likes it. I sympathise, I still use an open fire because I like it, however if it’s going to effect your or your kids daily health then its not sensible in my view.

Life does always result in death but the quality of life you have before that point is directly impacted by the environment you live in.

 

[karadekoolaid]

If it helps, I believe living is typically bad for your health as well. It always results in death.

You are so right.
Just musing, but there are so many things we're told to embrace or avoid these days that, if we tried to embrace/avoid them all, we'd probably be living a far more stressful life. Obviously, each person on the planet has their own views as to how to survive in a healthy manner and focuses on their own particular circumstances. Many many poor people here in Venezuela cook with gas; gas cylinders inside their slum houses, constructed with bricks, wood, sheets of scrap metal, and totally enclosed. However, these people live day to day, and what they earn goes on food. I imagine their concerns over environmental health are about last on their list of priorities. Advanced societies have the advantage of efficient and effective public services, hygenic infrastructure, proper ventilation, transport which functions, etc.
Evidently, maintaining a clean, harm free environment is important for 1st world countries; it's another step towards an "ideal" world.Still, I doubt very much that the people of India, China, Africa and South America really understand (or care) about net zero, low emission zones, clean air or carbon footprints - which is a shame, but an overwhelming fact of life.
If I had an option, I'd use a gas burner; but I don't. As for affecting the lives of my children or grandchildren well, it might, or might not. I'm always a bit leery about these news-breaking scientific discoveries, especially when they come from the Grauniad.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

If nitrogen dioxide levels are high and that does effect asthma (plenty of research available on that) it is IMO worth taking into consideration when choosing what fuel to cook with.

Our air purifiers frequently complain about NO2 prior to thunderstorms. They complain far less when we have the wood burning stove running. They also complain when we burn the toast, when we get something and so on.

My point was only 5 people were in that study, so I'm not going to draw any conclusions at all from it. 5 is not a statistically important number and the conditions were such that 'a study' is barely the right word. An observation might be better terminology.

I'm also a severe asthmatic as you know. 3 inhalers, 4 things to nebulise (2 are emergency drugs) and 3 tablets are needed to control my asthma. But if I had listened to all the 'advice' given over the years, I'd be dead. When I was diagnosed, it was believed that asthmatics should not partake in exercise and I was frequently not allowed to either (prevented by my school). I ignored them as often as I could and decades later the advice is the exact opposite now.

If the study was 5,000 people etc and not just 1 person with an electric induction hob, I'd consider it more relevant.

I find it more worrying that a newspaper is prepared to advertise such a 'study'.

 

[CookieMonster]

the "expert say" syndrome is giga-hugely over-spread - and only because of the internet.

when papers / magazines / periodicals were the source of information, submissions from quacks and weirdos were simply ignored.
now, all the quacks and weirdos have their own web sites/blogs/etc.
there is one sure way to spot them: at / near the end of their 45-60 minute "spiel" one learns how to buy their sure-shot program to better health . . .
on TV: The following is a paid advertisement . . .