From PolitiFact:
Fox News viewers might think a government agency is cooking up a plan to take away their gas stoves and ovens, after comments from network host Sean Hannity.
“Now, not only is (President Joe) Biden coming for your paycheck, but he’s coming for your stove. You heard me right.” Hannity said Jan. 9 during his show. “The White House is now attempting to ban all gas ovens and burners, that’s like half the country.”
The Washington Post reported that 40 million U.S. homes have gas stoves.
Prominent conservatives, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Fox News host Tucker Carlson, repeated the claim. So did Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Fox News did not respond to our request for comment. But Hannity’s remarks appear to stem from a published interview with a commissioner from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a federal agency that regulates consumer goods, which said a ban on gas stoves could be considered.
Hannity’s claim mischaracterized the commissioner’s remark and left out important context. Although the commissioner did not rule out the possibility of banning gas stoves, he also did not say a ban was in the works.
Gas stoves emit a poisonous gas when in use, especially in homes with poor ventilation. Several studies have linked emissions from gas stoves with increased health risks. One study found nearly 13% of childhood asthma cases in the U.S. are attributed to gas stove use.
» MORE: Childhood asthma study sparks hot debate over gas stoves
There are also environmental risks. CBS News has reported that a 2022 study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology said U.S. gas stoves put 2.6 million tons of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the air annually.
Nevertheless, the commission’s chair, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, a Biden appointee, said in a statement that neither he nor the safety commission is seeking to ban gas kitchen appliances. …
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