FIREWOOD SMOKE AND YOUR HEALTH .....to be Cont'd

Even though people have burned 🔥 wood (fire wood) for ages, scientific studies have shown that firewood smoke can impact your health and also the health of your family including others around you. 

Fire wood contains wood tars, gases, and soot, as well as chemicals like carbon monoxide, dioxins, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and fine particles. Many of these are the same toxic substances that are found in tobacco smoke, and it is believed that wood smoke has many of the same health consequences as tobacco smoke and even more.

We must state categorically that people who frequently breathe firewood smoke are at risk for serious adverse health effects. One major source of health problems is the fine particles in wood smoke.

Short-term exposure (hours or days) to fine particles in the air can aggravate lung disease, trigger asthma attacks, acute bronchitis, and may also increase susceptibility to respiratory infections. In people with heart disease, short-term exposures have been linked to heart attacks and arrhythmias. 
Over time, breathing fine particles in the air increases the chances of developing chronic obstructive lung disease, chronic bronchitis, cardiovascular disease, or lung cancer.

Scientists have studied health patterns among people who use firewood in their homes; people who have been exposed to smoke from wildfires; and especially those people who live in developing countries where wood is burned for heat and cooking. There is clear evidence from scientific researches that exposure to wood smoke can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and worsen asthma and other respiratory symptoms. Exposure to firewood smoke may also be harmful to respiratory immune responses thereby leaving people more susceptible to infectious lung disease. 
In high concentrations, firewood smoke can permanently damage lung tissue.

Exposure to higher concentration of firewood smoke
increases the likelihood of adverse health effects. But even at low levels, the substances in firewood smoke can be harmful, so when burning wood, it is not only your family and those near the fire who may be exposed, but also neighbors in the surrounding area, some of whom may have underlying health problems. 
FireWood smoke particles are so tiny that they remain suspended for long periods of time and readily penetrate into buildings with incoming cold air. Young children, the elderly, and people with asthma, lung, or heart diseases are especially vulnerable to firewood smoke in the air.

Stagnant air conditions  and temperature inversions result in wood smoke hanging close to the ground, where it can enter neighbors’ houses through tiny cracks, open windows and vents. firewood smoke often settles into low-lying areas, and can become trapped and build up to unusually high concentrations.

If you choose to burn wood, take the time to understand best practices for wood burning from relevant professionals. 
Always be ready to help your environment /community make a change toward less firewood burning?