The effects of secondhand smoke on people are well-known. Chronic exposure to tobacco smoke causes a variety of serious health problems in both adults and children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these include stroke, heart disease and lung cancer. It seems surprising that just breathing secondhand smoke could cause such serious diseases in the people who do not directly draw the smoke into their lungs, but it does. So, it should not surprise you to learn that secondhand smoke also increases the risk of health problems in pets.Dogs that live with smokers have an increased risk of nasal and lung cancers.Breathing in tobacco smoke over a long time can increase the chance that your dog will develop lung or nasal cancers. Nasal cancer is more common in long-nosed dogs, including collies, greyhounds, Afghan hounds, dachshunds and borzois because more cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) can accumulate in their long noses; fewer of these carcinogens actually reach their lungs. In contrast, shorter-nosed dogs that live with smokers are more likely to develop lung cancer because their noses do not filter the carcinogens as effectively.Unfortunately, the long-term survival rate for nasal cancer is low. Dogs that receive radiation treatment, which is the recommended treatment for nasal cancer, usually live an average of only eight to 19 months, according to the National Canine Cancer Foundation. I have helped many of these dogs in a hospice setting, and they donít last long because the secondary physical results of the tumors in the sinuses is hard to manage. The dogs canít smell; they usually stop eating and decline rapidly. These cancers are very aggressive and can spread in the nose or to the lungs. The metastasis can move to other critical parts of the body, causing an untreatable condition.It is not just cancer that is caused by long-term exposure to smoke. These pets are also at a much higher risk of developing other respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis or a chronic cough.Breathing in carcinogens isn’t the only problem.If you have ever been in the home of a long-time smoker, you may have noticed that the walls were coated with a yellow, sticky residue from the tobacco smoke. Unfortunately, carcinogens do not just coat the walls, but also fall on your pets’ fur. Since cats clean their fur by licking it, they are more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma in their mouths. The risk of developing cancer increases if cats have lived in the environment for five years or longer. Cats exposed to secondhand smoke are also two-and-one-half times more likely to develop malignant lymphoma than cats that live in smoke-free homes.Secondhand smoke and birds don’t mix.Dogs and cats aren’t the only pets that experience health problems when they live with tobacco smoke. As you may know, birds are particularly sensitive to smoke, chemicals and other air-borne pollutants. When they are exposed to secondhand smoke, they are more likely to develop pneumonia, lung cancer, heart problems, skin and eye irritation, coughing and sinusitis.Smoke isn’t the only problem.Your cat is unlikely to think an ashtray full of cigarette butts looks tasty, but your dog might decide that they make a good snack. Eating butts can lead to nicotine poisoning, a condition that can cause death if a pet ingests enough nicotine.Symptoms of nicotine poisoning:
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Tremors
- Abnormal heart rate
- Weakness
- Incoordination
- Drooling
