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Smoking and Your Pet

If there wasn’t enough reason for you to stop smoking than just your health, how about your faithful pets’ health?

Pet DCA

The evidence of secondhand smoking causing cancer has been building for years, not just in humans but moreso in animals. Veterinarians have been doubling their efforts to warn pet owners about the dangers smoking can do to their pets.

Pet owners that smoke are increasing their pets’ chances of forming cancer even if they choose not to smoke in the vicinity of the animal.  Environmental tobacco smoke more than doubles cats chances of lymphoma as compared to a feline not exposed.  As duration and quantity of smoking rises in owners, so do cats’ chances of getting cancer.  If exposed for 5 or more years the risk triples.  When two or more smokers are present, the risk quadruples!

Studies have shown that toxins in secondhand smoke can cause lung and nasal cancer in dogs and malignant lymphoma in cats.  Cats are more susceptible to malignant lymphoma cancers because they bathe frequently throughout the day.  They lick their fur and skin, and in doing so they expose their mouths and bodies to the toxins of cigarette smoke.  Dogs are more susceptible to lung and nasal cancers, especially long-snouted dogs, because they have a larger surface area of exposure to the carcinogens of secondhand smoke.  According to some reports dogs with short or medium snouts are at greater risk for lung cancer because their sinus passages just cannot properly cleanse the smoke of the lethal carcinogens before reaching the lungs.

From the Experts

Vetrinarian Carolynn MacAllister of Oklahoma State University says “There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets,” MacAllister said. “Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, as well as lung cancer in birds.”

“The evidence is striking,” says Steven Hansen of the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center.

Veterinary oncologist Aarti Sabhlok treats 40 or more cancer patients a week at San Francisco Veterinary Specialists, says an “animal in an environment with constant exposure to a toxin, and that would include cigarette smoke, could be at greater risk of developing tumors.”

What is in Cigarettes?

Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds and 400 other toxins. These include nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT.

These are just a few of the 4,000 chemicals found in cigarettes:

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Statistics

A Web-based survey of 3,293 adult pet owners found that 48% were smokers or living with smokers, and 37% said clear evidence that smoking is harmful to their pets would motivate them to quit or ask the people they live with to quit; 14% said such evidence could prompt them to do all their smoking outside.

2 Responses to Smoking and Your Pet

  1. Cjohnson August 7, 2012 at 10:45 am #

    Question: Marijuana smokers seem to think that they create no environmental hazard
    and no threat to pet health. Answers???

    • Kevin August 14, 2012 at 9:51 am #

      That’s a great question. Even marijuana smoke can be harmful, especially considering how much smaller most of our pets are. Second hand smoke is believed to be one of the largest contributors of cats and dogs developing cancer in their mouths and nasal passageways.

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