Every year 1,300 Dutch die two years earlier from cooking on gas: study

Cooking on gas causes over 1,300 people in the Netherlands to die earlier each year than they would have done without this cooking method, researchers from the Jaume I University in Castellón de la Plana, Spain, estimate. While the average Dutch person lives to be over 81 years old, people who cook on gas lose an average of almost 2.6 years of life, the scientists believe.

The main culprit is the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from the gas combustion itself. The combination with other substances in the air, poor ventilation, and prolonged cooking can also play a role.

There has been concern about the consequences of cooking on gas for some time. According to previous reports, many children are said to show asthma symptoms as a result.

The scientists studied the consequences of using gas stoves in homes in 14 countries in the European Union and Great Britain. In total, they estimate the number of premature deaths from cooking on gas at almost 40,000. In Poland and Romania, for example, around 6,000 people die earlier than average, and in Italy, almost 13,000. In Sweden and Finland, it only concerns a few people. In Germany, it concerns over 400 premature deaths per year.

In 2023, research organization TNO warned that cooking on gas is often dirtier than cooking on electricity. It more often results in an excess of the advisory values of nitrogen dioxide of the European Union and the World Health Organization (WNO), TNO concluded after researching 247 homes in various countries.

At the time, TNO emphasized the importance of using an extractor hood.