When you turn on your gas stove to cook, it releases various air pollutants that may cause detrimental health effects.
continues when it comes to which stove is best — and safest — for your kitchen. Published in early July, a
by the MetroHealth System, a Northeast Ohio hospital and academic medical center, in collaboration with six community organizations found that participants with asthma reported respiratory improvement after they swapped their
According to one of the researchers, Dr. Ashwini Sehgal, a professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University, in an article published by the nonprofit news organization
, this is the first study to explore whether switching from a gas to an electric stove can reduce asthma symptoms.
The study included 85 adults and children in Northeast Ohio with “poorly controlled asthma,” which was based on their symptoms, use of emergency medication and activity limitations. Each participant logged this information not only for one to four weeks before their gas stoves were replaced at no cost with electric induction models but also two to three months after the replacement.
“We chose electric induction stoves because they heat up and cool down rapidly, and they are safer and easier to clean than electric coil stoves,” Sehgal wrote in his The Conversation article. While induction stoves are powered by electricity, they use an electromagnetic field to heat your cookware, whereas electric stoves rely on electricity to do so.
were used to measure nitrogen dioxide levels for seven-day periods. Nitrogen dioxide, a gaseous air pollutant emitted by gas stoves, can
After the switch from gas to electric, indoor nitrogen dioxide levels decreased by 70%, and according to Sehgal, participants’ asthma symptoms went from moderate to mild, demonstrating improvements “similar to — or even greater than — those reported in
clinical trials of commonly used asthma medications
Missed days of work or school decreased by about 80%, while ER visits and hospitalizations decreased by 70%.
Aside from asthma improvement, 98% of participants reported feeling satisfied or very satisfied with their new electric induction stoves, whereas 41% felt the same about their previous gas models.
An induction stove uses electricity, not gas, to work.
Sehgal notes that the study followed only a small number of people for a few months and did not include a comparison group with gas stoves. The results were also based on a self-reported questionnaire rather than medical records.
Results may not apply to people with mild asthma or to other US regions with different nitrogen dioxide levels.
Information wasn’t collected on other household sources of nitrogen dioxide, such as fireplaces or kerosene heaters, nor was data on participants’ allergy status, stove usage or additional medications.
As a result, further research is needed to confirm the study’s findings and to learn more about long-term outcomes.
Researchers weren’t able to increase the study’s sample size or duration because the Trump administration terminated the project in May 2025, after it was selected for three years of funding by the US Environmental Protection Agency in December 2024.
As Sehgal put it in his article, switching from a gas stove to an electric one will not cure asthma or serve as a replacement for medical care and other health precautions.
It should also be considered that replacing a stove may not be financially feasible for many. “Most of our study participants lived in homes that were built before 1960, and we spent an average of $7,000 per household to upgrade their electrical systems as part of the study,” wrote Sehgal, adding that an electric stove plus installation costs about $1,500 in newer US homes.
If you have a gas stove, make sure you use the range hood’s exhaust fan to reduce airborne pollutants inside your home.
gaseous pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds such as benzene and formaldehyde, both of which can cause cancer.
found that nitrogen dioxide, in particular, is produced by gas stoves in the US at short-term exposure levels higher than those deemed safe by both the US Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization.
The 2024 study also estimated that, at the time, 50,000 cases of childhood asthma were linked to nitrogen dioxide emitted by gas stoves. If other gas stove pollutants were included, that number could rise to
lung cancer, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and preterm birth.
Along with increased levels of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, the
that nitrogen dioxide has been linked to cancer, autoimmune disorders, pregnancy and birth outcomes and harm to the heart, lungs, kidneys and nervous system.
The University of California, Davis, Environmental Health Science Center adds that
can release PM2.5 (particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less) and ultrafine particles, which can cause or worse