Investigation reveals how the stove industry tried to silence clean air campaigns

Image credit: Photo by Robin Jonathan Deutsch on Unsplash

An investigation published by The British Medical Journal (The BMJ) has exposed efforts by the Stove Industry Association (SIA) to suppress public health campaigns warning people about the harms of wood burning stoves.

While air pollution affects everyone’s health, it disproportionately harms children, older people, people with health conditions, people from racialised communities, and people who live in lower income areas.

What the investigation found

Using Freedom of Information requests, the BMJ’s investigation found that almost a third of the 50 councils in England with the highest concentration of wood burning stoves have been threatened with legal action or lobbied by the SIA. Among the findings:

• Eight London boroughs including Croydon, Islington, Lewisham, Southwark and Wandsworth were threatened with legal action in late 2023 over a public health awareness campaign.
• Brighton and Hove City Council faced pressure after campaigning about wood burning, after sensor data showed dramatic spikes in harmful particle pollution at 10pm, when wood burners are typically lit.
• Three councils received SIA leaflets claiming wood burning provides “health and wellbeing benefits” directly contradicting evidence and advice from the Royal College of Paediatrics, the Royal College of Physicians, and England’s Chief Medical Officer.

The investigation found that some councils received materials from the SIA claiming there was “no scientific evidence” for adverse health effects from wood burning, a position at odds with a growing body of peer-reviewed research.

How does burning wood harm people’s health?

Wood burning stoves are present in around one in ten homes in England. Domestic burning is a major source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the pollutant most harmful to human health. Research cited by the Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, shows that even the newest “eco design” stoves emit considerably more pollution than a gas boiler or electric heating.

Prolonged exposure to PM2.5 can cause cardiovascular disease, cancer, asthma, and stroke.

As Professor Whitty told The BMJ: “The growth of wood burning stoves in urban areas now contributes a significant and growing proportion of air pollution and in some places is reversing many decades of progress.”

Yet instead of being supported in communicating these risks, councils have faced legal pressure designed to deter them from reaching residents with crucial information.

Our role

We’re proud to support The BMJ’s investigation. We believe evidence must be accessible to communities, including people living in urban areas who are disproportionately at risk of the health effects of air pollution.

Have your say on wood burning

The Government is currently consulting on measures to reduce smoke emissions from solid fuel burning, including stricter limits on newly purchased stoves and health warning labels on fuels. This is an important opportunity to strengthen protections.

We encourage anyone who cares about clean air and public health to respond to the consultation. Respond to the government consultation on reducing smoke emissions from solid fuel burning.