According to an American study, the use of a wood stove or fireplace increases the risk of developing lung cancer in women by 43%, compared to those who do not use wood heating.
The study found that people who used wood heating more than 30 days a year had a 68% increased risk of developing lung cancer compared to other people.
The results come from the Sister Study , which tracked the health of 50,000 American women who had sisters with breast cancer for 11 years.
"The Sister Study was designed to better understand genetic and environmental risk factors for breast cancer, but it also looked at other factors," said Dr. Suril Mehta of the US Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Worldwide, smoking is the biggest risk factor for lung cancer, but not the only one. In addition to income and other lifestyle factors, it appears that heating with wood is also a risk factor.
In October 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified wood smoke as a human carcinogen. Another international study from 2010 found an increased risk of lung cancer in people who used wood and coal heating compared to those who did not.
