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Most of the residents in UK use wood heaters to keep them warm, especially during winter seasons. They do this without knowing the dangers and effects of wood smoke to their health and the environment. This is the reason why the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) came up with their stoves, which are smokeless and more efficient than the others. The defra approved stoves are environment friendly because they do not emit smoke and are meant to be used in smoke controlled areas of the UK.

Smoke produced by wood heaters pollutes the air almost seven times as much as cars pollute the air. Wood smoke contains carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which can seriously damage the lungs. In infants, the smoke affects the normal development of the lungs and increases the risk of respiratory infections like pneumonia and bronchitis in children. Too much exposure to wood smoke damages the cell layers in lungs. These cells are responsible for protecting and cleansing the body’s airways.

The smoke emitted by wood also causes eye irritation, headaches and coughs to healthy people. People who are vulnerable and suffering from cardiovascular diseases, asthma and chronic respiratory diseases are seriously affected by wood smoke, even if they are exposed to it only for a short period of time. Wood smoke has extremely small particles that make it impossible for the nose and the upper respiratory system to filter them. They end up deep in the lungs and can stay there for several months. During their stay at the lungs, they cause severe chemical changes to the lungs as well as structural damage.

These fine particles that stay in the lungs for months also increase the risks of heart attacks according to studies conducted recently. It also increases the risk of strokes. Patients suffering from heart attacks are likely to suffer from arrhythmias even with short-term exposure to wood smoke. The tiny particles may also make you to have breathing problems, chest pains and also fatigue. Studies have also shown that when you burn 10 pounds of wood in your fireplace at home for one hour generates 4,300 times more Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) than 30 cigarettes.

Those particles from wood smoke are so small that the windows and doors of your house cannot filter them out even when you close them. Therefore, burning wood outside your house is also not advisable. In order to protect yourself from these effects of wood smoke to your health, it is advisable to use the defra approved stoves during winter to provide the heat you need to warm your house. They are not only used for warmth, but you can also use them for heating water too. They are very safe to use and also economical as they save a lot of energy compared with the gas or electric heaters.

Although if you cannot afford these stoves, there are other measures you can do to reduce the amount of smoke emission from burning wood such as using dry and clean seasoned wood, using small pieces of wood and making sure your house is properly ventilated before lighting up the fire.