Secondhand Smoke and Your Pets
Are you hurting your pet without knowing it?
- Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, over 60 of which are known to cause cancer.
- Pets – including birds, rabbits, and other animals - can develop respiratory infections, lung inflammation and asthma from breathing in secondhand smoke.
- When pets living with smokers groom themselves, they ingest toxic secondhand smoke particulates that get trapped in their fur or feathers.
- Cats living in smoking households are 2.5 times more likely to develop malignant lymphoma (a type of cancer) than those living in smoke-free homes. As time goes by, with increased duration of exposure, the risk of acquiring cancer grows.
- Studies have shown that dogs living in smoking households are at much greater risk of developing lung cancer than those living in smoke-free homes. Dogs with long noses such as collies are 2.5 times more likely to develop nasal and sinus cancers.
Please take your smoking outside of your homes and cars to protect the WHOLE family.