You may not know it, but if you expose your pets to smoke, you are exposing them to danger. Studies have shown that toxins in secondhand smoke can cause lung and nasal cancer in dogs and malignant lymphoma in cats. In fact, according to www.breathenh.org:
• Dogs that inhale secondhand smoke are three times more likely to develop lung or nasal cancer than dogs living in smoke-free homes.
• Dogs can experience allergic reactions to secondhand smoke. Common symptoms of this allergic reaction are the scratching, biting, and chewing of their skin. Owners often confuse this reaction with fleas or food allergies.
• Two butts, if eaten by a puppy, can cause death in a relatively short period of time.
• Birds that sit on a smoker’s hand can experience contact dermatitis from the nicotine that remains on the smoker’s hand. This can cause them to pull out their feathers.
• Cats exposed to secondhand smoke in the home have a higher rate of an oral cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, which may be due to the way cats groom themselves. When cats groom themselves they eat the poisons from secondhand smoke that have settled on their fur.
• Cats exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher rate of feline lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer, than cats not exposed to secondhand smoke. Cats can develop respiratory problems, lung inflammation, and asthma as a result of secondhand smoke.
If you must smoke take it outside and don’t allow others to smoke around your pets. Keep ashtrays clean- don’t leave butts in them for pets to find and ispose of nicotine gum and patches in receptacles that can’t be accessed by pets.
