Clubs Offering:
I was walking across the campus of the university where I teach when I saw one of my colleagues sitting on a bench next to his wife. She waved me over. When I got there she told me in a rather worried voice, “You have to help me convince Dan that he should stop smoking. If not for himself—at least for Lilly.” Lilly was their new spaniel puppy, and Dan’s wife was concerned the puppy would be affected by secondhand smoke from her husband’s cigarettes. It has been shown that secondhand smoke is associated with an increased incidence of lung cancer in people.
Dan shook his head and waved one hand in dismissal. “Dogs don’t get lung cancer,” he claimed. “They are down at floor level and the smoke that gets breathed in is high up, around where a smoker’s mouth is.”
Dan’s position on this matter is debatable. Here’s why:
What are Some Other Risks Associated with Nicotine Exposure?
There are several other health problems associated with exposure to smoke or nicotine. Animals can suffer from asthma and secondhand smoke can increase the likelihood your pet could suffer from that health problem. It also increases their risk for allergies, but that’s not the only thing you have to worry about.
There are numerous toxins you have to look out for to keep your pet safe. Now you can add cigarette butts and e-cigarette cartridges to that list. Dogs may eat cigarette butts and could be put at risk for nicotine poisoning. This is also a problem for dogs that may ingest the cartridges from e-cigarettes that contain nicotine products.
Nicotine poisoning is associated with symptoms of:
What are the Health Risks Associated with Secondhand Smoke for Your Dog?
A study conducted in 1998 by researchers at Colorado State University and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that dogs exposed to environmental tobacco smoke were at greater risk for nasal cancer.
Interestingly, the study also found that certain dog breeds were at greater risk. While any type of dog can be at risk if they are exposed to secondhand smoke, this study found that dog breeds with long noses were at an increased risk for nasal cancer as opposed to dog breeds with short and medium-length noses.
This may be related to the ability of the dog’s nasal cavity to trap carcinogens in the smoke. Long-nosed dogs trap more debris in their nasal passages and sinuses than short-nosed dogs.
Short-nosed dogs, however, do not escape the risks associated with secondhand smoke. They are at an increased risk for lung cancer. This is likely due to the fact that their shorter noses don’t as effectively trap the smoke, and the carcinogens then pass straight through to the lungs.
A 2007 study also found that dogs were affected by passive smoking. Whereas previous studies had involved the effects of active smoking by delivering smoke to the animal through a mask or similar device, this study looked specifically at secondhand smoke exposure in domestic dogs.
The researchers found that certain white blood cells were elevated in the dogs exposed to cigarette smoke in homes where the owners smoke at least 20 cigarettes per day.
Additionally, there were changes in the dogs’ airways as a result of exposure to tobacco smoke. They also found anthracosis in immune system cells known as macrophages.
Anthracosis means that there was carbon present in these cells. Anthracosis or smoke residue can cause respiratory problems like allergies, bronchitis, pneumonia, and an increased risk for malignant lymphoma. In humans, anthracosis is often seen in coal miners. It is associated with numerous respiratory diseases including primary lung cancer.
The 2007 study concluded that exposure to secondhand or thirdhand smoke puts pets at a higher risk for numerous cancers including nasal cancer, oral cancer, and lung cancer. Of course, such exposure to smoke may also have long-term effects such as heart disease and other chronic problems just like it does in humans.