November 23, 2001	Friday	Ramazan 7, 1422

SINGAPORE, Nov 22: Cooking with gas in a poorly-ventilated kitchen can worsen coughing, wheezing and breathlessness for those afflicted with asthma, a National University of Singapore researcher said Friday.

Associate Professor Ng Tze Pin noted in his recent study that harmful nitrogen dioxide builds up from gas when ventilation is inadequate.

Using a gas stove makes one twice as likely to have respiratory symptoms than someone who does not use gas for cooking and is not exposed to cigarette smoke, said Ng, with the Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine.

If one is a passive smoker as well, then he is four times as likely to get sick, said the findings published in The Straits Times.

Ng cited an earlier study of 17 asthmatic women treated at the hospital, which found airflow in three of them dropped by as much as 10 per cent after they cooked with gas.

A drop of 15 per cent or more amounts to an asthma attack.

“We cannot do without gas stoves, but we can improve the situation by ensuring that there is proper ventilation in the home,” Ng said, adding that it is better to keep asthmatics and the elderly from being exposed to nitrogen dioxide at home.

Asthma hits one in five children in the city-state, the highest rate in Southeast Asia.

About 100 people die from the condition each year in Singapore, official statistics show, and 140,000 Singaporeans are afflicted with the illness, in which the small airways in the lungs become swollen and narrowed, making breathing difficult.

While there is no conclusion on the causes of asthma, modern factors known to worsen the condition include haze, tobacco smoke and diesel fumes, as well as allergies to dust mites and cockroaches.—dpa