What about our furry friends?
It’s been proven that passive smoking is harmful for people, but spare a thought too for our pets, who can’t tell us how they feel - it’s Up-2-You to work it out! Your pets can be affected by cigarette smoke – they’re breathing in the chemicals in the smoke and they may even be eating the cigarette butts.
What’s up pussy cat?
Cats spend a lot of time sleeping indoors where they may be constantly breathing in stale cigarette smoke. But not only do cats breathe in cigarette smoke, damaging their lungs in the process, but it also accumulates in their fur, making them smelly and uncomfortable – after all, cats can’t get in the shower! More seriously, the chemicals from cigarette smoke build up in their fur and they swallow them when washing themselves with their tongue.
Cats exposed to cigarette smoke are twice as likely to develop a particular type of cancer that kills most cats within a year. Cigarette butts can also be toxic to cats if they eat them and they can make them sick and irritable. The chemicals from the smoke also build up in carpets and on furniture – meaning that if someone is smoking in your house, your cat just can’t get away from it all.
In the doghouse!
Constant exposure to cigarette smoke is certainly not going to make your dog fitter, healthier or happier. Research has shown that dogs living with smokers are more likely to develop serious conditions such as asthma, nasal and sinus cancer, as well as lung cancer. If someone in your house smokes look out for your dog wheezing, coughing or struggling to breathe. If your dog tries to leave the room when someone is smoking it may be a sign that this is making life difficult for them. Puppies have smaller lungs and their immune systems are less developed than in older dogs and this makes them more vulnerable to infection. They also breathe faster, meaning they take the chemicals in very quickly. Passive smoking is bad for dogs of all ages.
Other pets
Research is ongoing to establish how passive smoking affects other pets, like birds, hamsters and guinea pigs. But the likelihood is that as it’s causing you harm, it’s probably having an effect on these little friends as well.
What can you do?
Just as with people, smoking in a different room from a pet won’t help. As 85% of cigarette smoke is invisible and doesn’t smell, we often don't realise how far it travels. Even if someone in your home is smoking in a different room from your family pet, the smoke will still be affecting him or her.
If your pet is constantly ill, you’re going to have to keep taking them to the vet – and after spending months persuading your parents that it’s really not that much hassle to have a pet, the last thing you want is expensive (and unnecessary) vet bills.
The bottom line is, if you smoke, try not to do it around your pet. Go outside and ask other people to do the same (you never know, it might even persuade them to give up).