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Smokers Would Quit to Avoid Harming Their Pets

Various pets are vulnerable to second-hand smoking

Feb 10, 2009 18:01 GMT  ·  By
More than 33 percent of US households have at least one pet
   More than 33 percent of US households have at least one pet

Second-hand smoking is just as dangerous to pets as it is to humans, a new scientific study has showed just recently. After making this information the focus point of a survey, researchers have learned that more than a quarter of people now smoking regularly would quit the habit in order to protect their beloved pets. The scientists behind the new study believe that pet owners are not exactly aware of the precise effects exposure to tobacco triggers in their cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, and all sorts of other animals.

According to Sharon Milberger, a researcher at the Henry Ford Health System's Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, in Detroit, cats, dogs and birds are most exposed to the effects of smoke. Dogs may suffer from allergies, nasal and lung cancers, as well as from various respiratory problems. Cats may also develop a lymph gland and oral cancers, as well as various conditions of the respiratory tracts. Birds, on the other hand, are at risk of developing a number of eye and skin diseases.

In the survey Milberger and colleagues conducted online, some 3,293 adults were asked about how they would react if they learned their habits affected their pets. Some 30 percent of the respondents said that they would quit if they knew for sure that smoking had a severe impact on their animals, while 14 percent maintained that they would ask smoking partners to take their habit outside the house. On average, participants in this study smoked 13.5 cigarettes per day, of which more than half indoors.

"We can't distill whether or not pet owners care more about their pets' health than their own. We just know that they do care about their pets' health. We're trying to reach people in different ways since the health effects of smoking on humans is well known. What is less well known is the health effects on pets," the scientist told LiveScience.

"Now if someone takes the pet to the vet, the vet can ask about [the] smoking behavior of the owners. It's another opportunity to hit people from different angles on the topic of smoking," she added. Indeed, more than one third of US households have a pet, so this method of reaching out to smokers, to help them quit, may prove to be quite effective in the long-run.