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PASSIVE SMOKING GIVES PETS CANCER

Thomas3.20.2010
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PETS living with smokers are twice as likely to get certain types of cancer as those in non-smoking homes, an animal charity has claimed.

  

 

  

In a warning timed to coincide with today’s No Smoking Day, the PDSA said smaller pets and birds are also very vulnerable because they are very sensitive to smoke.

  

The charity’s senior vet Elaine Pendlebury said: “The effects of second-hand smoke on humans are well- documented, however, the effects of passive smoking on our pets have only recently begun to be fully researched and understood.

  

“Cigarette smoke falls, so animals, and children, will breathe in more smoke as they are closer to the ground than adults. 

  

“Smoke can also settle on fur, and as pets groom themselves they ingest the smoke toxins, meaning they can be exposed to higher levels of the harmful chemicals than humans.”

  

Research carried out with Glasgow University’s Vet School showed dogs in smoking households have higher levels of nicotine in their fur than those in homes where no-one smokes.

  

Professor Clare Knottenbelt from the university said: “People need to know about these dangers so that they can take necessary precautions and make healthy choices for their pets.”

  

Pets can also die after being poisoned by eating the contents of ashtrays.

  

The PDSA urges smokers to quit, or only light up outdoors and thus cut the risks of passive smoking.

  

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About the Author
63 years old. 20 year smoker. 11 Years FREE! Diagnosed with COPD. Choosing a Quality LIFE! It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. -Galatians 5:1