An unusual rise in lung cancer among women has been confirmed by health experts in Uganda, with firewood smoke now singled out as a leading cause.
New data shows that most of the women affected have never smoked cigarettes, but spent years preparing meals in smoke-filled kitchens. Health specialists say the damage caused by soot and ash from firewood is now as dangerous as long-term tobacco use.
The Makerere University Lung Institute recently tracked patients in multiple districts and discovered that more than 60 percent of women screened tested positive for lung cancer. The majority of cases were linked to daily cooking with firewood or shrubs. Women using outdoor cooking spaces showed lower risk, while those in enclosed kitchens without proper ventilation faced the highest threat.
Regional statistics underline the scale of the problem. Household smoke is estimated to kill 300,000 people in East Africa every year. In Uganda, women and children are the most exposed since they spend more hours near cooking fires.
Experts recommend increasing access to safer fuels such as gas, biogas, and electricity. For households still dependent on wood, simple changes like cooking outdoors or installing chimneys can reduce exposure. Local innovators are also producing low-cost stoves that burn less fuel and release less smoke.
The new findings shift attention to household air pollution as a public health crisis. For many Ugandan women, the danger does not come from cigarettes, but from the daily routine of preparing meals in kitchens filled with smoke.
