13 Oct 2011.  Inefficient Developing World Stoves Contribute to 2 Million Deaths a Year. ScienceDaily.com

Smoke emitting stoves cause so much indoor air pollution that at least 2 million people die every year from them, and affects the health of another 3 billion people, almost half the world’s population. Resulting diseases include pneumonia, lung cancer, COPD, and any disease a cigarette smoker is likely to get (i.e. heart attack, stroke, cancer, etc). Women and children are the most affected since they spend the most time indoors.

Inefficient wood stoves lead to deforestation, desertification, more carbon dioxide, and environmental degradation (i.e. topsoil loss, soil fertility reduction, etc). Women are also raped on their usually long journeys to get wood.

Other suspected health risks:  cardiovascular disease, asthma, and tuberculosis.

Journal Reference: W. J. Martin, R. I. Glass, J. M. Balbus, F. S. Collins. A Major Environmental Cause of Death. Science, 2011; 334 (6053): 180 DOI: 10.1126/science.1213088

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