Quit smoking – for the sake of your pet
Author: Jessie Hamilton
There are many smokers who are unwilling to quit smoking despite being aware of the damage that the habit is causing to their health. But now a new research found that there is something I would do it: the health of your pet.
The research, conducted with 3,300 U.S. pet owners found that 28% of those who smoke try to quit if they knew snuff smoke harms their dogs and cats. The poll was conducted by the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. And it was done as part of the publication of research on the effects of smoke snuff in the journal Tobacco Control.
The study found that snuff smoke can be as dangerous for pets as for couples of a smoker. Passive exposure to smoke snuff has been associated with lymphatic cancer, nasal, and lung cancer, allergies, eye diseases and skin and respiratory problems in cats and dogs.
And yet, say the authors, very few smokers realize the impact their habit is having on the health of their pets. That’s why the researchers decided to conduct the survey to investigate the behavior of smokers in the household and their knowledge about the effects of smoking on their dogs and cats.
Many people do not want to quit despite knowing the damage it causes. Among the participants, one in five was a smoker, and one in four lived with at least one smoker. The average was 13.5 cigarettes per day, half of which were consumed within the home.
The results of the survey showed that among those who smoked, one in four (28.4%) said it would stop the habit if he knew that the smoke was affecting their pets.
8.7% said that if they knew the damage, they would ask their partners to stop smoking habit.
And one in seven smokers (14%) said they would ask their partners who smoked outside.
These figures, says the study, were higher among non-smokers who participated in the survey. Among them, more than 16% said they would ask their partner to quit smoking, and 25% would ask the smoker to smoke outside. As stated by Dr. Sharon Milberger, the epidemiologist who conducted the research, the results are “very encouraging” and could lead to reduced smoking.