Nobody should be using wood burners unless they basically have no choice, due to being remote enough that they are off the grid or have genuinely unreliable utility lines in the winter.
They are horrible for the environment and human health.
Even if you get a credentialled “eco” stove and use only kiln-treated wood and literally do every single thing right, you are still breathing in many times the maximum “safe” level of particles. You’re also forcing your neighbors to breathe them in, because the particles get into their homes as well.
”2.5” particles greatly increase risk of cardiovascular disease, lung disease, cancer and even things like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Women are especially vulnerable, as we spend more time indoors than men on average.
There is huge concern about the very large amounts of so-called “black carbon” that these stoves emit, which soaks up solar radiation and has a massive global-warming impact. (The good news is that black carbon does at least break down quickly compared to CO2, so if we stop using these wretched stoves, we can start making a difference to climate change right away).
The money people are spending on these stoves should be spent on things like insulation instead.
They should be banned other than in genuinely remote areas.