On the last day of its legislative session, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 2513, legislation that will require a warning label on gas stoves, starting online in 2025 and in stores in 2026. If Gov. Newsom signs the bill into law, California will become the first state to require gas stove warning labels.

More than four decades of research shows that gas stoves produce dangerous air pollution, including harmful levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and benzene, a known carcinogen. Exposure to these pollutants can worsen symptoms for people with respiratory illnesses, and even increase the risk of developing asthma in children.

As CALPIRG director Jenn Engstrom, who led the successful advocacy effort behind the legislation, said in a statement: “Consumers deserve the truth when it comes to the danger of cooking with gas. Warning labels will give consumers what they need to make informed decisions when they purchase appliances for their homes.”

Why put a warning label on gas stoves?

Despite the growing body of evidence about the health risks of gas stoves, most of this isn’t common knowledge. 

Even worse, U.S. PIRG research found that retailers consistently fail to provide basic factual information about the health risks of cooking with gas. We sent ‘secret shoppers’ to 62 retailers in 11 states, and found that 76% of sales associates said that gas stoves were perfectly safe or that they were not aware of health issues with gas stove emissions. 

That means many consumers are making decisions without critical information. One survey found that consumers are less likely to purchase a gas stove when they learn about the health risks, even consumers who currently own a gas stove.

CALPIRG’s campaign for gas stove warning labels

CALPIRG worked with other consumer and public health groups to win support for their legislation. 

For example, in April, CALPIRG and allies organized a letter signed by over 90 doctors to urge California legislators to support the bill. And in early August, CALPIRG helped organize a medical professional lobby day, bringing 23 medical professionals to talk with decision makers in Sacramento. CALPIRG also worked with legislative champions and other allies to place opinion pieces in newspapers supporting the legislation. 

Finally, as our opposition ramped up in the final days of the legislative session, CALPIRG and allies corrected industry misinformation and lobbied legislators to get the votes necessary to win. 

Other opportunities to require a warning label on gas stoves

Legislators in Illinois and New York have introduced similar legislation. And U.S. PIRG has been calling for warning labels in other forums as well.

In 2023, in response to a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Request For Information, we recommended warning labels, among other policies, that the CPSC should pursue. 

In May, U.S. PIRG filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia Superior Court against Haier US Appliance Solutions, maker of GE Appliances, alleging that the company is violating the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act by failing to warn consumers that normal operation of its gas stoves produces air pollution at levels that can be harmful to human health. 

Finally, we’re calling on Best Buy and other appliance retailers to voluntarily put warning labels on gas stoves and train their associates to provide factual information about the health risks of cooking with gas. 

California set a precedent for consumer protection in passing Assembly Bill 2513, but this is just the beginning of educating the public on the dangers of gas stoves.