Where there's smoke, there's sore eyes, nose, throat and lungs

The Advertiser

19-06-2025

This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
It used to be such a comfort. A raging wood fire in the depths of winter warmed the body and soothed the soul. Toes curled in front of it. Eyes mesmerised by the dancing flames. There seemed nothing better to come home to.
Not any longer.
For me - and I suspect many others - it changed with Black Summer. Now, the smell of fire is an unwelcome winter guest and the smoke curling from chimneys no longer evokes cosiness. It's an alarm signal.
Before those fires menaced this neighbourhood, winter was always accompanied by a pall of late afternoon smoke, as wood fires were lit. Almost every backyard featured a neatly stacked woodpile, some so extensive they were known as "Tasmanian fences".
These days around here, the once ubiquitous sight of smoke curling from a chimney is rare. And when it is encountered on a chilly evening walk, it's a source of irritation as eyes water and breath shortens, especially if it's from a freshly lit blaze and carries with it the paraffin smell of firestarters.
My own firebox has sat idle since Black Summer, as have many others. The air is fresher, the washing comes back into the house without that smoke smell. And there's no longer the need to order expensive firewood, which needs chopping and stacking. Being weaned off wood fires has been liberating. From hands calloused by axe work and splintered from stacking. And from the suspicion that the warmth which felt so good was actually doing you harm.
According to health authorities, if you can smell smoke, you're being exposed to the risks it carries. In the short term, there's irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract as well as likely worsening of symptoms associated with heart and lung disease. Longer-term exposure increases the risk of heart and lung disease.
According to NSW Health, wood heaters are the largest contributor to particulate emissions of 2.5 micrometres or less in the greater metropolitan region. In colder areas outside the city, the particulate emissions are presumed to be even higher. "It is estimated that out of 603 premature deaths from long-term exposure to all human-made PM2.5 emissions in metropolitan areas, 269 premature deaths each year are attributable to long-term exposure to residential wood-burning heater PM2.5 emissions," it warns on its website.
The most vulnerable, as always, are the very young, the elderly and those with existing diseases like asthma.
If you can smell the smoke, you're being exposed. And if you can see smoke pouring from a chimney, the fire's not being managed properly - either starved of oxygen or fed with crappy wood that's not properly seasoned - which is what annoys me the most. I picture the people inside, all toasty warm and totally oblivious to what they're pumping into the atmosphere.
I'm relatively lucky living in the coastal hinterland where frosts are rare, winter is mercifully short and people's memory of being shrouded in bushfire smoke for months has encouraged them to find alternative sources of heating.
For those in colder climes, where the wood heater still reigns, winter brings not just ice but fire as well and the choking smoke that comes with it.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should wood-burning heaters be banned? Do you have neighbours whose chimneys belch smoke all winter? Should people sensitive to wood smoke just grin and bear it? How do you heat your home in winter? Email us: [e-mail]
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Optus is on the hook for a $100 million fine after it pressured Aboriginal customers in remote regions into buying phone products they did not need or want. The nation's second-biggest mobile operator has admitted to engaging in "unconscionable conduct" after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched court action.
- Sexually active gay and bisexual men and transgender women will be able to donate blood from July 14 after a landmark change in eligibility rules.
- Tax reform is "crucial" to addressing Australia's economic challenges, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said in his strongest signal yet on the thorny issue.
THEY SAID IT: "Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans." - Jacques Cousteau
YOU SAID IT: Mordechai Vanunu paid a hefty price for blowing the whistle on Israel's nuclear weapons program. Yet we hear little about that as a new war erupts over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"All countries should surrender their nuclear weapons," writes Elaine. "When has war ever achieved anything but the death of so many innocents?"
Bernard writes: "Thank you and your editors for having the courage to write and publish this. Given the apparent Israeli practice of killing medical and media personnel, and of the seemingly indiscriminate bombing of civilians, is it now time for the Australian government to request more details regarding the death of Prisoner X (the late Ben Zygier)?"
"Meanwhile, Israel lectures Iran on nukes with a straight face," writes Mike. "It's like a chain smoker telling you to quit vaping."
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
It used to be such a comfort. A raging wood fire in the depths of winter warmed the body and soothed the soul. Toes curled in front of it. Eyes mesmerised by the dancing flames. There seemed nothing better to come home to.
Not any longer.
For me - and I suspect many others - it changed with Black Summer. Now, the smell of fire is an unwelcome winter guest and the smoke curling from chimneys no longer evokes cosiness. It's an alarm signal.
Before those fires menaced this neighbourhood, winter was always accompanied by a pall of late afternoon smoke, as wood fires were lit. Almost every backyard featured a neatly stacked woodpile, some so extensive they were known as "Tasmanian fences".
These days around here, the once ubiquitous sight of smoke curling from a chimney is rare. And when it is encountered on a chilly evening walk, it's a source of irritation as eyes water and breath shortens, especially if it's from a freshly lit blaze and carries with it the paraffin smell of firestarters.
My own firebox has sat idle since Black Summer, as have many others. The air is fresher, the washing comes back into the house without that smoke smell. And there's no longer the need to order expensive firewood, which needs chopping and stacking. Being weaned off wood fires has been liberating. From hands calloused by axe work and splintered from stacking. And from the suspicion that the warmth which felt so good was actually doing you harm.
According to health authorities, if you can smell smoke, you're being exposed to the risks it carries. In the short term, there's irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract as well as likely worsening of symptoms associated with heart and lung disease. Longer-term exposure increases the risk of heart and lung disease.
According to NSW Health, wood heaters are the largest contributor to particulate emissions of 2.5 micrometres or less in the greater metropolitan region. In colder areas outside the city, the particulate emissions are presumed to be even higher. "It is estimated that out of 603 premature deaths from long-term exposure to all human-made PM2.5 emissions in metropolitan areas, 269 premature deaths each year are attributable to long-term exposure to residential wood-burning heater PM2.5 emissions," it warns on its website.
The most vulnerable, as always, are the very young, the elderly and those with existing diseases like asthma.
If you can smell the smoke, you're being exposed. And if you can see smoke pouring from a chimney, the fire's not being managed properly - either starved of oxygen or fed with crappy wood that's not properly seasoned - which is what annoys me the most. I picture the people inside, all toasty warm and totally oblivious to what they're pumping into the atmosphere.
I'm relatively lucky living in the coastal hinterland where frosts are rare, winter is mercifully short and people's memory of being shrouded in bushfire smoke for months has encouraged them to find alternative sources of heating.
For those in colder climes, where the wood heater still reigns, winter brings not just ice but fire as well and the choking smoke that comes with it.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should wood-burning heaters be banned? Do you have neighbours whose chimneys belch smoke all winter? Should people sensitive to wood smoke just grin and bear it? How do you heat your home in winter? Email us: [e-mail]
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Optus is on the hook for a $100 million fine after it pressured Aboriginal customers in remote regions into buying phone products they did not need or want. The nation's second-biggest mobile operator has admitted to engaging in "unconscionable conduct" after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched court action.
- Sexually active gay and bisexual men and transgender women will be able to donate blood from July 14 after a landmark change in eligibility rules.
- Tax reform is "crucial" to addressing Australia's economic challenges, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said in his strongest signal yet on the thorny issue.
THEY SAID IT: "Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans." - Jacques Cousteau
YOU SAID IT: Mordechai Vanunu paid a hefty price for blowing the whistle on Israel's nuclear weapons program. Yet we hear little about that as a new war erupts over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"All countries should surrender their nuclear weapons," writes Elaine. "When has war ever achieved anything but the death of so many innocents?"
Bernard writes: "Thank you and your editors for having the courage to write and publish this. Given the apparent Israeli practice of killing medical and media personnel, and of the seemingly indiscriminate bombing of civilians, is it now time for the Australian government to request more details regarding the death of Prisoner X (the late Ben Zygier)?"
"Meanwhile, Israel lectures Iran on nukes with a straight face," writes Mike. "It's like a chain smoker telling you to quit vaping."
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
It used to be such a comfort. A raging wood fire in the depths of winter warmed the body and soothed the soul. Toes curled in front of it. Eyes mesmerised by the dancing flames. There seemed nothing better to come home to.
Not any longer.
For me - and I suspect many others - it changed with Black Summer. Now, the smell of fire is an unwelcome winter guest and the smoke curling from chimneys no longer evokes cosiness. It's an alarm signal.
Before those fires menaced this neighbourhood, winter was always accompanied by a pall of late afternoon smoke, as wood fires were lit. Almost every backyard featured a neatly stacked woodpile, some so extensive they were known as "Tasmanian fences".
These days around here, the once ubiquitous sight of smoke curling from a chimney is rare. And when it is encountered on a chilly evening walk, it's a source of irritation as eyes water and breath shortens, especially if it's from a freshly lit blaze and carries with it the paraffin smell of firestarters.
My own firebox has sat idle since Black Summer, as have many others. The air is fresher, the washing comes back into the house without that smoke smell. And there's no longer the need to order expensive firewood, which needs chopping and stacking. Being weaned off wood fires has been liberating. From hands calloused by axe work and splintered from stacking. And from the suspicion that the warmth which felt so good was actually doing you harm.
According to health authorities, if you can smell smoke, you're being exposed to the risks it carries. In the short term, there's irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract as well as likely worsening of symptoms associated with heart and lung disease. Longer-term exposure increases the risk of heart and lung disease.
According to NSW Health, wood heaters are the largest contributor to particulate emissions of 2.5 micrometres or less in the greater metropolitan region. In colder areas outside the city, the particulate emissions are presumed to be even higher. "It is estimated that out of 603 premature deaths from long-term exposure to all human-made PM2.5 emissions in metropolitan areas, 269 premature deaths each year are attributable to long-term exposure to residential wood-burning heater PM2.5 emissions," it warns on its website.
The most vulnerable, as always, are the very young, the elderly and those with existing diseases like asthma.
If you can smell the smoke, you're being exposed. And if you can see smoke pouring from a chimney, the fire's not being managed properly - either starved of oxygen or fed with crappy wood that's not properly seasoned - which is what annoys me the most. I picture the people inside, all toasty warm and totally oblivious to what they're pumping into the atmosphere.
I'm relatively lucky living in the coastal hinterland where frosts are rare, winter is mercifully short and people's memory of being shrouded in bushfire smoke for months has encouraged them to find alternative sources of heating.
For those in colder climes, where the wood heater still reigns, winter brings not just ice but fire as well and the choking smoke that comes with it.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should wood-burning heaters be banned? Do you have neighbours whose chimneys belch smoke all winter? Should people sensitive to wood smoke just grin and bear it? How do you heat your home in winter? Email us: [e-mail]
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Optus is on the hook for a $100 million fine after it pressured Aboriginal customers in remote regions into buying phone products they did not need or want. The nation's second-biggest mobile operator has admitted to engaging in "unconscionable conduct" after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched court action.
- Sexually active gay and bisexual men and transgender women will be able to donate blood from July 14 after a landmark change in eligibility rules.
- Tax reform is "crucial" to addressing Australia's economic challenges, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said in his strongest signal yet on the thorny issue.
THEY SAID IT: "Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans." - Jacques Cousteau
YOU SAID IT: Mordechai Vanunu paid a hefty price for blowing the whistle on Israel's nuclear weapons program. Yet we hear little about that as a new war erupts over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"All countries should surrender their nuclear weapons," writes Elaine. "When has war ever achieved anything but the death of so many innocents?"
Bernard writes: "Thank you and your editors for having the courage to write and publish this. Given the apparent Israeli practice of killing medical and media personnel, and of the seemingly indiscriminate bombing of civilians, is it now time for the Australian government to request more details regarding the death of Prisoner X (the late Ben Zygier)?"
"Meanwhile, Israel lectures Iran on nukes with a straight face," writes Mike. "It's like a chain smoker telling you to quit vaping."
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
It used to be such a comfort. A raging wood fire in the depths of winter warmed the body and soothed the soul. Toes curled in front of it. Eyes mesmerised by the dancing flames. There seemed nothing better to come home to.
Not any longer.
For me - and I suspect many others - it changed with Black Summer. Now, the smell of fire is an unwelcome winter guest and the smoke curling from chimneys no longer evokes cosiness. It's an alarm signal.
Before those fires menaced this neighbourhood, winter was always accompanied by a pall of late afternoon smoke, as wood fires were lit. Almost every backyard featured a neatly stacked woodpile, some so extensive they were known as "Tasmanian fences".
These days around here, the once ubiquitous sight of smoke curling from a chimney is rare. And when it is encountered on a chilly evening walk, it's a source of irritation as eyes water and breath shortens, especially if it's from a freshly lit blaze and carries with it the paraffin smell of firestarters.
My own firebox has sat idle since Black Summer, as have many others. The air is fresher, the washing comes back into the house without that smoke smell. And there's no longer the need to order expensive firewood, which needs chopping and stacking. Being weaned off wood fires has been liberating. From hands calloused by axe work and splintered from stacking. And from the suspicion that the warmth which felt so good was actually doing you harm.
According to health authorities, if you can smell smoke, you're being exposed to the risks it carries. In the short term, there's irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract as well as likely worsening of symptoms associated with heart and lung disease. Longer-term exposure increases the risk of heart and lung disease.
According to NSW Health, wood heaters are the largest contributor to particulate emissions of 2.5 micrometres or less in the greater metropolitan region. In colder areas outside the city, the particulate emissions are presumed to be even higher. "It is estimated that out of 603 premature deaths from long-term exposure to all human-made PM2.5 emissions in metropolitan areas, 269 premature deaths each year are attributable to long-term exposure to residential wood-burning heater PM2.5 emissions," it warns on its website.
The most vulnerable, as always, are the very young, the elderly and those with existing diseases like asthma.
If you can smell the smoke, you're being exposed. And if you can see smoke pouring from a chimney, the fire's not being managed properly - either starved of oxygen or fed with crappy wood that's not properly seasoned - which is what annoys me the most. I picture the people inside, all toasty warm and totally oblivious to what they're pumping into the atmosphere.
I'm relatively lucky living in the coastal hinterland where frosts are rare, winter is mercifully short and people's memory of being shrouded in bushfire smoke for months has encouraged them to find alternative sources of heating.
For those in colder climes, where the wood heater still reigns, winter brings not just ice but fire as well and the choking smoke that comes with it.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should wood-burning heaters be banned? Do you have neighbours whose chimneys belch smoke all winter? Should people sensitive to wood smoke just grin and bear it? How do you heat your home in winter? Email us: [e-mail]
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Optus is on the hook for a $100 million fine after it pressured Aboriginal customers in remote regions into buying phone products they did not need or want. The nation's second-biggest mobile operator has admitted to engaging in "unconscionable conduct" after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched court action.
- Sexually active gay and bisexual men and transgender women will be able to donate blood from July 14 after a landmark change in eligibility rules.
- Tax reform is "crucial" to addressing Australia's economic challenges, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said in his strongest signal yet on the thorny issue.
THEY SAID IT: "Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans." - Jacques Cousteau
YOU SAID IT: Mordechai Vanunu paid a hefty price for blowing the whistle on Israel's nuclear weapons program. Yet we hear little about that as a new war erupts over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"All countries should surrender their nuclear weapons," writes Elaine. "When has war ever achieved anything but the death of so many innocents?"
Bernard writes: "Thank you and your editors for having the courage to write and publish this. Given the apparent Israeli practice of killing medical and media personnel, and of the seemingly indiscriminate bombing of civilians, is it now time for the Australian government to request more details regarding the death of Prisoner X (the late Ben Zygier)?"
"Meanwhile, Israel lectures Iran on nukes with a straight face," writes Mike. "It's like a chain smoker telling you to quit vaping."