The household appliance one GP says increases child asthma risk by 50 per cent

Dr Ben Ewald said gas stoves, ovens and heaters - which many people have in their homes - "release combustion products into the indoor air".

"The nitrogen dioxide from that has quite a harmful effect on people's airways," said Dr Ewald, of Doctors for the Environment Australia.

"It can lead to kids developing asthma."

Other pollutants emitted by gas appliances include carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and benzene.

Dr Ewald, who is based in Newcastle, attended by video link a NSW parliamentary inquiry on February 19, 2026 into indoor air quality.

"There have been big cohort studies, following groups of infants to primary school age and seeing who develops asthma," he told the Newcastle Herald.

"The risk of getting asthma is about 43 per cent greater for kids living in a house with a gas stove."

Dr Ewald said gas stove exposure "accounts for asthma in about one in eight kids in Australia".

"The problem is no one knows about it. Most people think gas stoves are completely normal, so we keep on using them," he said.

"This comes up in my work as a GP when I'm seeing parents of kids with asthma.

"A lot of parents are quite surprised to hear that the gas stove might be the trigger for their child's asthma."

Dr Ewald said more public education was needed about how to protect people when they're using gas stoves.

"The first thing is to open a window. The second is to turn on the range hood every time you light the stove, as long as it blows the air outside the house.

"Some range hoods blow it back in the kitchen and they're of no use at all.

"The third thing is, next time you're buying a stove, get an induction one, not a gas one."

Dr Ewald said single pot induction plates were an inexpensive option, with some models costing less than $100.

In a submission to the inquiry, Doctors for the Environment Australia called for "phasing out of gas appliance use in homes, public buildings and businesses".

It said financial assistance should occur for "full electrification".

It called for "no gas connections" in new buildings, with "fully electrified heating, cooking and hot water systems".

Dr Ewald said Newcastle was "leading the pack" in this regard.

City of Newcastle's development control plan has a guideline that says new residential developments "should only use electricity, either grid provided and/or on-site renewable, for all internal household energy needs".

"Gas cooktops, ovens or internal space heating systems should not be in any residential development," the guideline states.

Several Sydney councils have policies similar to Newcastle.

NSW Premier Chris Minns is opposed to gas bans, having said last year that "things like gas on your stove top, as well as solar and batteries, are all part of the future mix".

Victoria banned new natural gas connections in new homes and residential subdivisions in early 2024, which followed a ban in the ACT in late 2023.

These bans were linked to reducing fossil fuel use and emissions.

Meanwhile, in a submission to the inquiry, the doctors' union raised concerns about immunocompromised patients in hospitals "with poor ventilation, water damage or mould contamination".

"Dampness and mould are recurrent themes in many hospitals."

The Newcastle Herald has reported a mould infestation at the Calvary Mater Newcastle had previously shut intensive care and oncology wards and forced cancer patients to be moved.

A parliamentary inquiry is being held into the Mater mould fiasco, with a hearing in Newcastle on March 13.