Dangerous Cigarette Dosages of Nicotine For Dogs
The average cigarette contains between 9 and 30 milligrams of nicotine.
Non-smokers who consume as little as 4 to 8 milligrams of nicotine can become ill, and as little as 40 to 60 milligrams may prove fatal for young children.
But dogs are even more sensitive to nicotine.
As little as 1 milligram of nicotine per kilogram of your dog’s body weight (2.2 milligrams per pound) can cause serious illness. The lethal dose is typically reported to be in the range of 9.2 milligrams per kilogram (about 20 milligrams per pound).
This means that a single cigarette can make a small dog very sick, and it doesn’t take very many more to sicken a large dog. Since even a small amount of nicotine can threaten your dog’s life, you should contact your vet anytime your dog eats a cigarette.
Note that cigarette butts can also represent a danger to dogs. About 75% of the nicotine in a cigarette ends up in the smoker’s body, but the remaining 25% is usually trapped in the filter. If your dog eats a filter, he’ll end up ingesting this leftover nicotine.
This is concerning, as even dogs who live in non-smoking homes may encounter cigarette butts during walks or playtime at the park.
Causes of Nicotine Poisoning in Dogs
The cause of nicotine poisoning in your dog is the ingestion of any of these items that contain nicotine:
Your dog can also get nicotine poisoning from breathing or ingesting pesticides that contain nicotine.
What Is Nicotine Poisoning?
Nicotine poisoning refers to toxicity associated with the ingestion of products that contain this chemical. Dogs and cats, like people, have numerous nicotine receptors throughout their nervous systems that can easily be overstimulated by exposure to nicotine. Pets, however, are less tolerant of nicotine than people, so they are more likely to suffer negative side effects.
Nicotine can be toxic even when administered in small amounts to cats and dogs. The degree to which pets are affected by nicotine depends on how much is ingested and the weight of the animal. Symptoms have been reported at doses as low as 1 mg/kg (milligram per kilogram of body weight), and the median lethal dose in dogs is 9.2 mg/kg. The average cigarette contains 9 to 30 mg of nicotine, and the nicotine becomes concentrated in the cigarette butt, so an already smoked cigarette can still be very dangerous.
Cigarette and Nicotine Poisoning in Pets – VSEC
Because of their curious and greedy nature, dogs tend to chew or ingest everything they find in their path to the point where it is necessary for the owner to organize himself so that the dog does not ingest anything he comes across. One situation that comes up quite frequently is the ingestion of tobacco by the dog.
Has your dog swallowed tobacco? The potential for intoxication is high. In this article, we will explain the dangers of tobacco and its components on your dogs health and how to react to this situation.