We’ve known for a very long time that cigarette smoking is bad for our health. This is an undisputed scientific fact. Have you ever considered what effect smoking would have on our family pets?
Some research suggests that dogs who live with a family where there is a smoker, may more than likely suffer from asthma, or bronchitis or other respiratory diseases. The statistics for cats is even more alarming. Studies show that cats with exposure to “environmental tobacco smoke-ETS” actually showed an increase in lymphoma.
Now the ASPCA/American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals say they have evidence that supports the view shown another studies. The ASPCA’s hope is that if you won’t stop smoking for yourself, maybe you’ll stop for your beloved pet. The USA Today article goes onto to say that a veterinary oncologist says he believes an “animal in an environment with content exposure to a toxin, and that would include cigarette smoke, could be at greater risk of developing tumors”.
Researches highlighted on the PETA website: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also sited studies from the University of Mass and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine also support the concerns of cancer in cats and dogs. The website goes on to say that this seems to have a positive incentive for smokers to change their behavior. Maybe they care more about their pets then about their own possibility of getting cancer.
Due to pet dander allergies in my family, we’ve never really had a pet aside from the occasional goldfish that didn’t have a lifespan longer than a month or two. Because of this, I have never been forced to think about the possibility of my actions hurting someone in my household that isn’t a blood relative of mine. This was a very eye-opening blog post for me and got me thinking of an idea for a blog post of mine own. We now know that cigarette smoke can hurt cats and dogs, but how about other living organisms that we keep in our household like plants and flowers?
I feel like this happens a lot with many different activities humans take part in. We often forget about people around us and especially animals. Since we don’t know what it’s like to be a dog or cat, people don’t take into consideration how it may feel to them when they smoke or something else. We see it all the time in the news with animal torture and testing on animals too in order to determine conclusions. Hopefully more people become aware of this and take animals more into consideration when taking part in what could be harmful activities to them.
I found your blog post to be very interesting. Many people only look at the personal effects that smoking has rather than taking into consideration the effect that it has on the people around. Pets are most likely those who are most effected because they are constantly inside the house and therefore facing constant exposure to the smoke. Problems could arise in pets and house owners probably would not know that it is the smoke that is harming them. Hopefully with this knowledge people will stop smoking and look out for the well-being of their beloved pets if not their own.