Despite many studies looking at levels of indoor air pollution, successful initiatives to reduce the burden of ill health are few. One reason may be some commonly held beliefs, especially among those not directly involved in household energy, on some key issues in this field. ITDG has been collaborating on smoke alleviation with the University of Liverpool and other groups internationally for several years. This discussion is based on approaches adopted through two on-going projects funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in Kenya, Nepal and Sudan. March 2005