Most people know that secondhand smoke is bad for children or other adults nearby. In fact, the Center for Disease Control estimates that since 1964, nearly 2.5 million nonsmokers have died from health problems aggravated or caused by secondhand smoke. Those are staggering statistics that are hard for many smokers to face when they consider the health of their family or friends. But did you know that secondhand smoke is bad for your beloved pet as well?
What Counts as Secondhand Smoke
Before you can understand how secondhand smoke harms your pets, it’s important to understand what counts as secondhand smoke. Any smoke that comes from a tobacco product, such as cigarettes, pipes, or cigars counts. This include smoke that has been exhaled by a smoker.
Every cigarette creates more than 7,000 chemicals when it is burned, and about 70 of those are known to cause cancer. Many more are toxins that can affect health in other ways. Ammonia, arsenic, carbon monoxide, lead, methanol, and even formaldehyde are all toxins that are released when a cigarette burns.
Smoke in the environment can stay on fur and skin long after the smell has left the air. Animal fur is very absorbent, meaning that secondhand smoke can linger around their breathing space for days after being exposed.
Secondhand Smoke and Cats
Secondhand smoke is particularly dangerous for cats for one major reason: the way they groom. As cats clean themselves, they’ll lick and ingest any secondhand smoke lingering on their fur, which can lead to mouth cancer and lymph nodes. Remember that our pets are much smaller than we are; it takes a significantly lower amount of the toxins in cigarettes to affect them the way a lifetime of smoking would us.
One study showed that cats owned by one-pack-per-day smokers are more than three times as likely to develop lymphoma than a cat living in a nonsmoking home. And another found that any cat who is exposed to even a single cigarette every day is four times as likely to develop one of the most common types of oral cancers in cats.
Secondhand Smoke and Dogs
Dogs can also develop cancers of various sorts when exposed to secondhand smoke, as well as respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis. Studies have shown that dogs with long muzzles have a 250% higher chance of developing cancer in their nasal passages when they live with smokers than with nonsmokers. And dogs with short muzzles, like bulldogs, are more likely to develop lung cancer. Short-muzzled dogs are already at a higher risk for asthma and breathing problems; living with smokers makes it nearly impossible for these dogs to avoid developing issues.
How to Fix it
While some pet owners may think that simply smoking outside, or only in the car, is an easy way to solve this issue, that is not entirely true. Smoke travels on clothing, in hair, and in through windows and doors. When your pets cuddle or brush against you, their fur will pick up at least five to seven times as much environmental smoke residue as pets owned by nonsmokers. Vaping also isn’t an easy solution. The chemicals in many vape solutions is made up of chemicals with similar properties to ingredients in antifreeze, which can be deadly to pets when licked or ingested.
In fact, the only real way to save your pet’s life from the deadly side effects of secondhand smoke is to not expose them to it in the first place. The best option for both of you is to quit smoking altogether; don’t allow friends or family to smoke in your home; and avoid areas where smoking is allowed.
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