I'm a bit confused about
1) pollution causing human health problems
2) pollution causing global warming

I can see from your 'stovesonline' link Iains that wood burning produces quite a bit less CO2 than all the other fuels. But woodsmoke pouring in our bungalow windows, from old rotten fence panels coated with creosote, is really horrible. It may not globally warm, but it stinks the whole house out if we delay shutting all the windows! I actually think that it's not allowed to burn such nasty stuff, but our Local Authority (Breckland) is a pussycat and not very active.

We're lucky here in the countryside, as one can't hear any traffic, and Norfolk has not a single motorway. However, Norwich does have an emissions problem from cars in the main streets.
In 1982, the Great Smog killed around 4000 people in the London area. I remember it well.