According to a recent study, the use of cleaning sprays and air fresheners while doing housework could account for up to one in seven cases of asthma in adults.

The modern affinity for using labor-saving cleaning sprays and air fresheners has been found to raise significantly the risk of symptoms.

Just spraying a cleaner once a week can trigger an attack, according to the research. The risk rose the more that the sprays were used.

Furniture sprays, glass-cleaners and air freshener sprays were associated with the highest risk of a person developing asthma after doing the housework. No link was identified between the onset of asthma and the use of cleaning products that were not sprayed.

Cleaning sprays have previously been found to be associated with an increased incidence of asthma among people who clean for a living but it is thought to be the first time the link has been made to everyday use.

Howard Stoate, a GP, MP and chairman of the asthma all-party parliamentary group, said that a link between chemicals and asthma has long been suspected.

He hoped that it might explain why countries such as New Zealand, which have low air pollution levels, have increases in asthma levels.

Asthma UK, a charity dedicated to helping the 5.2 million asthma patients in Britain, said that it was particularly interested in the finding that people without asthma go on to develop it after using the sprays.