Does your dog smoke?
I admit it. I'm not above using a little guilt to get you to change bad habits. And since I know for a fact that many people take better care of their pets than they do themselves, I'm pulling out all the stops.
If you have a furry (or winged) friend in your household and you're a smoker—stop, for their sake.
Just as secondhand smoke represents a significant health threat to nonsmoking two- legged family members—your pets are also affected. Recent research has linked second- hand smoke to lymphoma and oral cancer in cats, lung and sinus cancer in dogs, and lung cancer in birds.
Turns out cats are especially vulnerable. They lick their fur throughout the day to clean it and end up licking up smoke carcinogens that collect on their fur. This is why mouth cancer is more prevalent in cats that live with smokers than those who live in a smoke- free environment.
Cats are also more susceptible to malignant lymphoma if they live in a smoke-filled home. Three out of four cats that develop this cancer will die within a year.
And dogs are no less affected by secondhand smoke-attributed cancer, only it's their nose and sinuses that are susceptible. The breed of dog also had an effect on what type of cancer they developed. Longer-snouted breeds had a higher rate of nasal tumors, while shorter-nosed breeds had a higher incidence of lung cancer.
The reason? The more nose a dog has, the more mucous membrane that's exposed to carcinogens and greater surface-area where it accumulates. These dogs suffer the same mortality, dying within a year of developing full-blown cancer. And the shorter-nosed breeds have less nasal mucous membrane to catch carcinogens, which means the poison is going to their lungs.
And it's not just the smoke that can get them. If your dog's anything like mine, he probably grabs things he's not supposed to. If a pet gets hold of your tobacco products or tobacco product-butts and chews them up, and it can literally be a case of curiosity killing the cat (or dog). It's poisonous for them to ingest that amount of nicotine directly.
While the researchers offer the advice of smoking in a designated area inside your home where your pets won't be affected, I'm going to go that one better.
Stop smoking. You know that it's poisoning you, too. Try a new habit: Take your dog for a long walk, or run around your house trailing a string for your cat to chase.
