Introductory text

Parents work hard to make homes safe for their kids - and we need fact-based, up-to-date information to make the best decisions. Now that research clearly shows a strong link between emissions from gas stoves and asthma, particularly in children, isn't it time to tell the truth about cooking with gas? 

We're asking Health Canada to:

• update the guidelines last reviewed in 2015 and the 2021 factsheet on Cooking and Indoor Air Quality to reflect this risk more clearly,
• carry out an education campaign with clear, factual information about the known risks and risk-reduction strategies, and
• build on the growing evidence of harm to call for regulations from the federal government dealing with gas stoves in new buildings and homes, along with assistance for home owners and residents to transition from gas stoves. 

Why?

Although the health impacts of nitrogen oxide (released when gas is burned) have been studied before, a recent report in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health elevated the conversation, linking gas stoves directly with significantly increased risk of asthma in children, suggesting that 13% of childhood asthma cases can be linked to the use of gas stoves. 

What does this mean for families?

Gas stoves have been hailed as the ideal for home cooking in terms of performance, as well as a more-or-less affordable touch of luxury - meaning that they've become more widespread and popular. They are a perfect example of how families are targeted in advertising products that normalize fossil fuel use while glossing over the health and climate impacts. 

And they aren't only in luxury homes or new builds: families living in rental homes and multi-unit buildings have no choice over the appliances in their homes and in particular no control over how they are vented (venting a gas stove directly outdoors is the most important way to reduce pollutants). Meanwhile, families in rural and remote areas and communities where electricity sources are unreliable count on gas or propane stoves instead. 

What can you do?

With mounting evidence of the direct health impacts of emissions from gas stoves, we are calling on Health Canada to put public health and safety first. You can send the email below directly to the federal Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, and a copy will go to your MP. You can send the email the way it is or edit it to add your own words. 

Email text

Dear Minister Duclos,

Growing evidence of the direct link between gas cooking stoves and childhood asthma needs to be shared with parents truthfully and immediately.

Parents work hard to make homes safe for our children, and we need factual, up-to-date information to make the best decisions. It's devastating to learn that we're putting our families at risk every day because the health impacts of emissions from gas stoves have been glossed over in advertising designed to sell consumers on a product's upscale look and reputation for performance.

And for many parents, this isn't even a choice they made. Families in rental homes and multi-unit buildings don't have control over the appliances in their homes or how they are installed, when research and evidence shows that directly venting a gas stove outside is the most important way to reduce pollutants in the air. Those living in rural and remote communities, or places where the electricity supply is unreliable, count on gas and propane stoves regularly.

I am calling on you, as Minister of Health, to promote the health and safety of Canadians, particularly children, by

1. Directing Health Canada to update its 2015 guidelines on Residential Indoor Air Quality and the 2021 Factsheet on Cooking and Indoor Air Quality to reflect more clearly the evidence of harm caused by gas stoves,
2. Directing Health Canada to carry out an education campaign with clear, factual information about the known risks and risk-reduction strategies, and
3. Developing federal regulations dealing with gas stoves in new buildings and homes, along with assistance for home owners and residents to transition from gas stoves. 

All of these actions are urgently needed and should start immediately.

Every day, parents struggle to keep our kids from harm, in the face of increasing evidence of the impacts of climate change and the knowledge that an quick, immediate transition away from fossil fuels is critical to giving them a liveable future. Addressing the known danger caused by an everyday activity like cooking meals is a positive action that tells parents their health and safety, and that of their kids, is valued by their elected representatives.

I look forward to hearing from you on this issue.