The World Health Organization, in Geneva, Switzerland, says smoke from home stoves and fires in developing countries is a major cause of death and disease.

WHO says the acrid smoke causes about 1.6 million deaths a year, with women and children in rural areas at greatest risk, the BBC reported Saturday.

The international health agency said that while millions of deaths from well-known communicable diseases often make headlines, indoor air pollution is a silent and unreported killer.

Almost half of the world cooks and heats with solid fuels such as dung, wood, agricultural residues and coal - fuels that give off particles and chemicals that bypass the body’s defenses and more than doubles the risk of respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia, WHO said.

The World Energy Assessment estimated that the amount of smoke from house fires is the equivalent of consuming two packs of cigarettes a day.

WHO says cleaner stoves, fuels and smoke hoods are needed.