Smoking and Pets: How They’re Affected by Cigarette Smoke

Cigarette smoking can put your pets at risk by exposing them to thousands of harmful chemicals, leading to several health issues.

Curious little animals might even try to chew on discarded cigarette butts, which could be deadly.

If you have furry friends at home, you obviously love them and want them around. But smoking near them isn’t showing that love—it can harm them in many ways. 

Just like it affects humans, cigarette smoke is especially dangerous for your animal companions. 

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People exposed to secondhand smoke are at risk for cancer, and for pets, the health consequences could be even worse.

Want to know what happens if you don’t quit smoking for good? Read this post.

What Happens When You Smoke Around Pets

Do you smoke in your home even when your cat or dog is nearby?

This can put them at risk for developing serious health problems, including irritation and long-term diseases that could be fatal.

Here are some of the possible health issues your pets might face if you don’t stop smoking around them.

Nasal Cancer

Cigarette smoke contains thousands of toxic substances that can harm your pets’ sensitive nasal tissues. This damage can lead to cancerous cells forming. 

If you truly care about your furry friends, it’s time to quit smoking to protect them from serious health issues and painful deaths.

Pets with long noses are particularly at risk for nasal cancer from smoke exposure because harmful substances collect on their noses instead of in their lungs. 

Sadly, animals with nasal cancer often don’t survive.

So, your decisions can make a big difference in your pet’s life and how long they live.

Oral Cancer

A study found that cats living with daily smokers are much more likely to develop lymphoma.

If you know someone with cancer, you understand how painful it can be. But, many people don’t realise that animals suffer even more.

Tumours can be extremely painful for pets and may change how they act around you and others in the household.

It’s not just pets who are affected. If you have kids in your home, they can also suffer from serious problems caused by secondhand smoke.

Breathing Problems

Every time you smoke, you increase the risk of your pet developing severe breathing issues. The toxic chemicals in smoke will irritate their airways and cause them to cough and have lower stamina when playing with you or other pets. 

Over time, this can worsen and lead to more severe conditions, such as chronic bronchitis or asthma, which are a horrible thing for your loving pet to endure.

Eye Irritation

Your pets suffer from eye irritation more than people when you smoke around them.

Smoke can cause irritation to a pet’s sensitive eyes. This can manifest as redness, itchiness, excessive tearing, and even more severe eye conditions. So, if you really love your pet and want them to have good vision as they grow old, just stop smoking.

Death

There’s no doubt that pets who have suffered enough from inhaling your secondhand smoke and being exposed to thirdhand smoke (on surfaces, in dust, etc.) are far more likely to die sooner and more painfully due to health complications. 

They would endure tumours and breathing problems and live a laborious and painful life due to weakened immune systems and infections, eventually leading to their death.

Expensive Veterinary Services

Smoking is already expensive for you as it is. Now, think about providing treatment and life support funds for your lovable, fuzzy companion suffering because of your smoking.

Treating smoking-related ailments in pets often requires extensive veterinary care, medication, and surgeries, leading to costly medical bills. 

There’s an easy way to avoid all of this: stop smoking.

Smoke Chemicals: An Unseen Danger to Pets

After you decide to quit smoking (and are eventually successful), keep your home safe for pets by having it thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Smoke chemicals can linger on various surfaces as dust and discolouration on walls and surfaces for years, posing continued risks to pets. They can ingest these chemicals by licking floors, furniture surfaces, or other areas and surfaces in the house and get sick, long after you’ve quit.

The Effects of Vaping on Pets

Unfortunately, there are very few studies on the effects of vaping on pets. It’s logical to think that vaping should be safer for pets, and while pharmacy-available vaping products don’t contain the thousands of dangerous chemicals found in cigarette smoke, many of the illicit vapes sold under the counter do. 

To be on the safe side, we suggest vaping outside in the yard or in a room where your pet won’t follow you or enter.

It’s also worth mentioning that nicotine can be extremely poisonous to pets. Its effects on their system aren’t always lethal, but it can cause them extreme discomfort and pain, not to mention the high vet bills you’ll need to pay to restore their health.

The Solution: Stop Smoking

The most effective solution for safeguarding the health and well-being of pets is to quit smoking altogether. By quitting, you not only improve your own health but also protect your beloved companions from breathing in the dangerous chemicals of cigarettes. 

Every pet owner surely wants the best for their loving companions, and quitting is one way of giving it.

Summary

Smoking poses a significant threat to the health of our pets. The harmful effects of cigarette smoke are too painful and damaging to pets exposed to smoke chemicals. By quitting, we give ourselves and our pets an environment that keeps us healthier and living life the longest.

You’re probably here because you want to know how smoking has affected your pets. We hope you found what you read useful and helpful. There’s a lot more to know about quitting and the effects of smoking on people and pets.

Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around! 

If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.

Link Reference

• https://www.lawrenceburgvetclinic.com/blog/2018/january/secondhand-smoke-affects-pets-too/
• https://www.petmd.com/dog/wellness/can-pets-get-cancer-owners-smoking
• https://www.dvm360.com/view/understanding-and-recognizing-cancer-pain-dogs-and-cats
• http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/vet/docs/SmokingPets.pdf