PGAQ #78 by Vic Steblin, Jan 19, 2009

2570 Laurier Crescent, Prince George, BC, 250-564-1123

A letter to the editor asked “How can wood burning be worse than cigarettes?” In response I would say that smoke is an issue of balance and abuse just like so many other things in life. Note that people do not smoke wood in cigarettes.

If there was only one wood burner in all of Prince George or if they only burned a few times I cannot imagine much complaining. The same thing can be said about cigarette smoking. There are only complaints if a person smokes too much or when it starts costing the health system too much.

If every house in Prince George was heated with wood as it was in the old days, then we would have a serious smoke problem during the colder inversions.

Humans do not smoke wood because wood smoke is worse for humans than cigarette smoke. Even smokers avoid campfire smoke when it blows their way. Cigarettes have also been developed over centuries to become a product acceptable to many. Humans do not enjoy wood smoke in high concentrations although faint odours may bring back fond memories.

Finally, wood burning is not cheaper than natural gas when you add in all the hidden costs. Just like hunting is not cheap when all the extras are included, so also wood burning is not cheap. Wood burning is an expensive hobby and is costly in terms of health and time. We actually pay less in the long run for natural gas than wood because there are fewer health costs.