The city of Montreal is asking people to use their wood stoves and fireplaces less because of air pollution.

Public health officials with the city say chimney smoke causes almost 50 per cent of the air pollution on the Island of Montreal; the air pollution, in turn, is a factor in the dramatic rise of asthma rates in the region, according to the Quebec Lung Association.

The city is working with the propane and natural-gas industries to promote alternatives to wood-burning stoves, but the priority is to raise awareness about the problem, said Alan DeSouza, the municipal executive committee member responsible for sustainable development.

"Our objective is first and foremost to make sure people know and understand what the impacts are: what impact it has on their health, what impact it has on the health of their children and of their elderly parents, and what the impacts are on the quality of air in Montreal," he said Wednesday.

Residents should start making more informed decisions about using their wood stoves and fireplaces, especially in the summer or during smog periods, DeSouza added.

"I think if people have a combination of knowing what their choices are, and why it's not good for their health or the environment — and they have incentives and choices to be able to make the conversion and switch — I think most people will look at those elements seriously," he said.

The city stopped short of issuing an all-out ban on wood stoves and fireplaces, DeSouza said, without specifying why.

The popularity of wood stoves spiked on the Island of Montreal after the 1998 ice storm, which left some areas without power for days.

The city of Montreal says there were 85,241 wood-burning stoves on the island in 2007.

The Montreal public health department estimates burning a wood stove for nine hours is the equivalent of driving a midsize car for a year, or about 18,000 kilometres of driving.

With files from the Canadian Press