 |
||||
 |
 |
|||
 |
||||
PETS AND SMOKE: MAN'S BEST FRIENDS WORST ENEMY
Whether you smoke cigars, cigarettes or pipe tobacco, marijuana or any smoke-able substance, second-hand smoke can harm your pet dramatically. Dogs, cats, birds, rodents and less often reptiles, are curious and will investigate foreign objects, particularly when there is an appealing odor. Often, animals ingest cigarettes or cigar butts containing toxins. Death in pets can occur from ingestion of one to five cigarettes/butts or just one third of a cigar. They may also drink water containing butts, which has a high concentration of nicotine. If you’re trying to quit or have already quit and are using nicotine gum to help, be aware that this gum contains nicotine and you should be careful to keep this and all pharmaceutical and over the counter medications out of your pets reach. Remember that this “reach” is not the same as that of a child. Cat’s climb, dogs open cabinets and birds, great escape artists with the ability to fly can get into nooks and spots you may have never thought of. If you smoke around your pets, the following symptoms and health effect can manifest; breathing problems in dogs, asthma-like symptoms in cats, salivation, diarrhea, vomiting, cardiac abnormalities, respiratory difficulties/paralysis, feline lymphoma and lung and/or nasal cancer in dogs. Clearly if you quit smoking, this would be best for your health, your pets, your wallet and our shared environment. However if you find yourself unable to cease smoking, always smoke outdoors. Be sure to keep tobacco products, medications, drugs and chemicals/cleaning products, in a safe, out-of-reach place. Keep ashtrays clean from butts/ashes/matches. Dispose of nicotine patches and gum in a safe manner, inaccessible to pets. |
||||
|
||||
 |
|
|
|
|
While there is an abundance of evidence of the dangers of direct smoking as well as the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, there is also clinical evidence that shows the harmful affects of smoking around your pets.