A 20-year study by the University of Bergen in Norway has found that using cleaning products can be as harmful as smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
The study found that women who are responsible for cleaning at home with cleaning sprays or worked as professional cleaners suffered a more rapid decline in lung function than women who were not responsible for cleaning.
Researchers say that the decline in lung functions is most likely because of the irritation most cleaning chemicals cause on the mucous membranes that line the airways.
The study involved more than 6,000 participants.
