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According to latest figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO), 4.3 million people a year die prematurely from illness attributable to the household air pollution caused by the inefficient use of solid fuels for cooking. Among these deaths, 12 per cent are due to pneumonia, 34 per cent from stroke, 26 per cent from ischaemic heart disease, 22 per cent from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and six per cent from lung cancer. According to the WHO, around three billion people still cook and heat their homes using solid fuels (that is wood, crop wastes, charcoal, coal and dung) in open fires and leaky stoves. Most are poor, and live in low- and middle-income countries. The WHO noted that such inefficient cooking fuels and technologies produce high levels of household air pollution. In poorly ventilated dwellings, indoor smoke can be 100 times higher than acceptable levels for fine particles. Exposure is particularly high among women and young children, who spend the most time near the domestic hearth.