A CONTROVERSY has erupted in recent days in the United States in the wake of calls to ban gas stoves for cooking due to the health hazards they pose. Efforts by right-wing politicians and their media accessories to turn the issue into another battle in the 'culture war' are immature and not worthy of discussion, but their silly reaction to it has at least drawn attention to the potential risks of gas cooking.
Even if fire safety is scrupulously observed, gas stoves have other less obvious but equally dangerous risks, which is the reason for the contentious calls to ban or restrict their use in the US. When in use, gas stoves produce carbon dioxide , nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide as combustion products. CO2 is a greenhouse gas, and CO can be lethal if it accumulates in a high enough concentration, such as in a poorly ventilated room.
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