A Majority Of Americans Are Against Banning Gas Stoves

A majority of 69% of Americans are against a ban on gas stoves, a poll conducted by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and Harris.

The poll covered a number of topics spanning from approval of institutions to top concerns, but it also included a question on the gas stove ban, to which most respondents answered in the negative.

The issue has become quite heated recently after a study came out earlier this year suggesting a link between gas stove use and asthma. At the time, a commissioner at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said that CPSC had been considering a ban on gas stoves for months. The statement was promptly denied by the head of the CPSC.

However, other authorities took up the gas stove ban idea and New York recently became the first state to pass legislation that would ban the installation of gas stoves in new buildings due to the perceived harms of using them.

There are also several cities across the U.S. with gas bans in place although Palo Alto recently made an exception for a celebrity chef planning to open a restaurant in town.

The Harvard/Harris poll suggests a majority of Americans have similar feelings to chef Jose Andres when it comes to gas stoves. The sentiment was especially marked among Republicans, unsurprisingly.

As much as 83% of GOP respondents were opposed to a gas stove ban versus 55% of Democrats. Yet opposition to a ban was also pronounced among respondents without party affiliations: 71% of them were against a ban.

Meanwhile, the pressure campaign against gas stoves continues. Media reported this week on a new study that claims it had found that gas stoves emit a carcinogenic chemical—benzene—in concentrations higher than its concentrations in cigarette smoke. The implication appears to be that using a gas stove may be even more dangerous than second-hand smoke.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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