The days are getting shorter, the evenings colder. Time for a cozy gathering by a crackling fire. Lovely, right? Or maybe not… Knowledge center Milieu Centraal has therefore launched the awareness campaign ‘Honest about Wood Burning’ to inform the public about the negative consequences of burning wood, and to encourage people to burn less. Wood burning has harmful effects on health. The Dutch Fireplaces and Stoves Association (Nederlandse Haarden- en Kachelbranche “NHK”) tried to block this campaign before the Advertising Code Committee due to their commercial interests. The Advertising Code Committee (in Dutch) has rejected this attempt.

When wood is burned, large amounts of fine particulate matter are released through the smoke. It has been proven that fine particles can cause health problems such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory complaints, chronic bronchitis, and lung cancer. That is why Milieu Centraal is conducting this information campaign, based on the most recent figures from the independent research institute TNO.

The NHK argued that the campaign was misleading in many respects. For example, they claimed that Milieu Centraal should explicitly state that modern stoves emit less fine particulate matter than older models. But according to the Advertising Code Committee, this is not required. Milieu Centraal is also allowed to compare wood smoke to cigarette smoke.

On two points, the Advertising Code Committee has given non-binding advice to Milieu Centraal. The small jar of particulate matter is a visual representation (using graphite) of the 28 grams of fine particles that are released through the chimney during an average evening of burning wood. And Milieu Centraal now mentions on its website that more research is needed into the effects of wood dust. One fact remains: that cozy crackling fire spreads a lot of fine particulate matter. And that can affect your health and that of others. So think twice, and enjoy in moderation.

This case for Milieu Centraal was handled by Ebba Hoogenraad and Myrna Teeuw.