Neil Mitchell grills Climate Council doctor over warning about cooking with gas
New research from the Climate Council says there is a link between gas cooktops and asthma.
According to the research, cooking with gas is responsible for up to 12 per cent of childhood asthma in Australia.
Climate Council health expert, Dr Kate Charlesworth, who authored the report, says the findings will “shock” many parents.
“Parents would be really shocked to learn that gas cooking is contributing to their child’s asthma” she said.
“We have a responsibility to put out this information.”
Dr Charlesworth’s report says a child living in a home with gas cooking faces “a comparable risk of asthma to a child living with household cigarette smoke”, but she couldn’t tell Neil Mitchell how many smokers live in the house used for comparison.
DR CHARLESWORTH: “A child living with gas cooking in the home has a comparable risk of asthma to a child living with household cigarette smoke.”
NEIL MITCHELL: “How many smokers in that house to get that equation?”
DR CHARLESWORTH: “It’s household cigarette smoke, so yeah, it can be variable.”
NEIL MITCHELL: “But how can it be variable if you’re doing a direct comparison?”
Dr Charlesworth says households with modern extraction fans and better ventilation lead to “reduced but not eliminated” asthma risk in children.
Press PLAY below to hear Neil Mitchell grill Dr Charlesworth about the risks posed by gas