Charnwood, the British-made wood and multi-fuel stove manufacturer says that the current public health ‘anti-wood stove smoke’ advertising campaign is using incorrect and misleading data.
It says ‘A negative narrative is being unfairly manufactured around the wood-burning stove industry, by anti-woodburning groups such as the ‘London Wood Burning Project’ and ‘Clean Air Hub’. Their campaigns repeatedly use misleading claims and stats to scare the public and they refuse to answer questions directly when challenged.’
In a recent press release Charnwood stated that “the campaigns paint a distorted picture, often using anxiety-inducing imagery and negative attention-grabbing headlines based on sweeping generalisations and weak or inaccurate data. They continue to mislead the public using stats that lump modern wood-burning stoves in with outdated, inefficient models, open fires and bonfires. It’s like saying cyclists are equally to blame for traffic congestion/emissions as lorries and private cars just because they all use wheels!”
“They combine emission sources for a more impactful number, and then claim 17% of London’s emissions come from ‘domestic wood burning’ or ‘wood burners’. Catch-all terms the public understandably associate most readily with wood-burning stoves – especially because they create ad campaigns which prominently feature images of wood stoves. However, the actual contribution of modern wood-burning stoves is estimated by the UK government’s official figures at just 1-2%! (1)”
The company points out that it is essential to differentiate between various forms of wood-burning. It says “Chief Medical Advisor Chris Whitty in his report acknowledges this saying, “For air pollution emissions, there is substantial difference between the different open fire and stove designs, the age of the appliance and how well maintained it is, and the moisture content of the wood, for those who want to burn wood.”(2) . While Ecodesign-compliant stoves are up to 90% more efficient than an open fire, ClearSkies Level 5 stoves, are even better still. They surpass Ecodesign standards, offering a further reduction in emissions by up to 30%! (3) “
Charnwood states that this is where the anti-woodburning strategy is so ‘incredibly counterproductive’. “In London 70% of wood burning still occurs on open fires. (4) If people were widely encouraged to switch to one of the many modern and efficient wood-burning stoves available, it would massively reduce urban PM 2.5 emissions. Just think, the emissions of 70% of London Wood burning could be reduced by 90%!”.
The company claims key findings include:
-No scientific evidence found for adverse health impacts from exposure to the indoor air typically associated with modern, enclosed wood burning stoves
-No association shown between exposure to indoor wood burning and risk of asthma in developed countries
-Use of modern wood burning stoves may help to improve air quality inside the home due to the natural draught created during wood stove operation that pulls air from the room into the appliance and from outside
-Other sources of particulate matter in the home, such as cooking, can release much higher levels of PM compared to modern, enclosed wood burning stoves, and could therefore havegreater health risk potential
-In one study, oil-based cooking, such as frying food or grilling meat, had peak value PM concentrations significantly higher than the WHO recommended average 24hr exposure limit.
You can read Charnwood’s article in full HERE
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