Introduction 1 Introduction 2  Contents History Health effects Exposure Case study Links Issues Way forward		About the author	Simon Francis has spent most of his working life as a Physics lecturer in the UK.  However, health problems dictated a change in career and lifestyle.  He is now a painter, contemporary but with only a loose attachment to the post modernist agenda.  He maintains an active interest in science.  His interest in the health effects of domestic smoke emissions was accidental.  Having been affected by chimney smoke just a few times too often, he pursued the issues with the relevant regulatory authorities only to be met by what many would perceive as indifference.  Not only did he find environment groups difficult to interest but he found "green" activists to be part of the problem.  Research into the subject led him to conclude that domestic smoke is indeed a serious problem.  What remains now, is for people,  especially those determining government policy, to be convinced of the scale of the health effects.