Cook smoke is the forth killer causing increase in rates of deaths and diseases in most of developing countries. For once of cooking, a person breathes in a volume of toxic smoke as that of 40 cigarettes. Cook smoke damage is ranked even above malaria, measles and AIDS in the list of factors for deaths to children under 5.
There is now 1/3 of the world population using smoky cook stoves (firing wood, coal, paper…) for cooking everyday. There are many chemicals in cook smoke toxic to immunity apparatus and upper respiratory apparatus such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, oxide nitrogen, formaldehyde, benzene, black carbon… Therefore, children often breathing in cook smoke are under threat of inflammation in respiratory apparatus for 2-3 times higher than those living in fresh air atmosphere. For women, the difference is 4 times. Additionally, cook smoke also causes diseases like asthma, tuberculosis, cataract and less-weight birth. Despite cook smoke is so toxic, up to now, Vietnam has not made any action really efficient in awareness increase and decrease in number of people using smoky cook stoves. Most of families using this kind of cook stoves are poor. It’s therefore not easy to persuade them to forsake such use. They have also not received full information on damage of cook smoke. Before being able to change cooking devices, such families should restrict damage of cook smoke by installing smoke disposing pillars or smoke sucking machines, deodorizing machines… Experience in Kenya showed that, after a certain time of supporting people to install smoke disposing pillars or smoke sucking machines, the rate of indoor toxic air has decreased by 80%.
In order to upgrade indoor atmosphere for over 2.4 billion people using smoky cook stoves around the world, the annual expense will be 2.5 billion USD and this amount will paid consecutively in 12 years. Nevertheless, in a economic calculation, this amount is so cheaper than what to be paid for treatment of diseases related to cook smoke.