Are you putting your pet’s life at risk ???
A Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine study found that cats living in a home with a smoker are more likely to develop cell carcinoma, an oral cancer, than cats who are not exposed to secondhand smoke.
Why mouth cancer? Cats in smoking households lick up the thousands of chemicals that settle on their fur when they live with smokers. Daily grooming over a long period of time exposes a cat’s sensitive mouth skin to these cancer-causing chemicals, known as carcinogens.
The risk for cancer skyrocketed when a cat lived with more than one smoker or had been exposed to secondhand smoke for more than five years.
Dogs who inhale secondhand smoke are three times more likely to develop nasal cancer than dogs living in smoke-free homes.
A University of Massachusetts study found that dogs who live with a smoker have a 60 percent chance of developing lung cancer.
This correlation was especially strong among long-nosed dog breeds such as collies, according to a Colorado State University study.
Dogs can also experience allergic reactions to secondhand smoke—including scratching, biting, and chewing their skin. Fido may not have fleas or be allergic to food—he may be in misery because of those cigarettes!
Speaking of cigarettes, the deadly dangers don’t end with the smoke that they produce. A cigarette butt, if eaten by a puppy, can quickly cause death.
Fortunately, a study conducted by the Henry Ford Health System Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention concluded that smokers with pets would give up if they knew the danger they were outing their pets in.
The facts speak for themselves over 3000 people took part in the survey:
One in three of the smokers said that knowing smoking was bad for their animal’s health would compel them to quit.
Nearly one in ten would ask their partner to quit.
And one in seven would ask their partner to smoke outside.
Nobody should out their loved ones at risk – most people think about their kids or wife/husband – but we rally do need to think about our pets too. We bring them into our lives and love them but we could be harming them greatly through ignorance. Don’t let your pet be harmed by second hand smoke – give up and give your pet a chance.