Cleaning is as bad for women as smoking 20 cigarettes a day

Harmful sprays can cause long-term lung damage and raise asthma risk by 40% - but men appear to be immune

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Cleaning the house with chemicals is as damaging for women as smoking a packet of cigarettes every day, according to a new study, but men who clean their houses suffer no side effects.

Researchers at the University of Bergen studied more than 6,000 people who were either professional cleaners or had been regularly using cleaning sprays for 20 years.

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