Home wood burning in UK causes £1bn of health costs a year, report says

In the UK, the health-related social costs of wood stoves is about 40 times higher than a gas boiler over a year. Photograph: Phil Holden/Alamy

The air pollution from wood burning in homes is responsible for more than £1bn a year in health-related damages in the UK and €10bn (£8.5bn) across the EU, according to a report.

The analysis from the European Public Health Alliance found the total costs of early deaths, illness and lost work resulting from outdoor air pollution produced by all home heating was €29bn a year.