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Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney

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Do you smoke? Need an incentive to quit? Do you have pets?

Then that beloved pet just might be the incentive you need

to stop.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have

discovered that pets are affected by second-hand smoke.

Cats living with a smoker are two times more likely to get

feline lymphoma than one that's not. After five years the

rate increases to three times as likely. When there are two

smokers in the home, the chances of a cat getting feline

lymphoma increases to four times as likely and after five

years, three times the rate of cats living in smokefree

homes.

Dogs living in a smoking household have a 60 percent risk of

getting lung cancer.

Long-nosed dogs, such as collies or greyhounds, are twice as

likely to develop nasal cancer if they live with smokers.

Pets of all sizes and ages are affected. But especially

small pets, the very young and the old.

Second-hand smoke contributes to a other pet ills as well.

As a smoker exhales, the air is filled with poisonous fumes.

A pets eyes can become irritated due to the smoke's effects

on the tiny blood vessels found within the eye.

Smoke can damage the sensitive lungs in a pet.

Additionally, the noxious fumes can cause a cold that can

lead to more serious, life-threatening conditions.

Smoke inhalation quickly irritates an animal's throat

because animals have a shorter esophagus than humans.

Just as smoke affects furniture, rugs, curtains, etc. the

smoke also affects a pet's living quarters and gets into the

pet's fur and skin. A cats hair continuously traps large

quantities of smoke particles just like drapery, furniture

and clothing. The cat sniffs and inhales these

concentrated particles from his fur while grooming which

leads to lymphoma in the nasal passages and intestines as

well as the chest.

Some pets are allergic to smoke.

Animals have a very acute sense of smell and the odor of

smoke is very offensive to them.

Nicotine is a highly toxic chemical. Some pets may suffer

the effects of nicotine poisoning when exposed to high

concentrations.

If a pet has respiratory allergies such as asthma, the

illness is going to be worsened by constantly breathing the

second hand smoke.

Respiratory illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, and a

collapsing trachea are the most common possible causes of a

chronic cough in dogs. The constant irritation eventually

causes the trachea to lose its round open shape. It begins

to collapse resulting in even more coughing and irritation,

and to an untreatable, intolerable condition usually leading

to euthanasia.

So the next time you light up, think of the air that your

beloved pet is being forced to inhale.

Here is more information on helping you to kick the smoking

habit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/smoking/smokingpets.htm

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