Secondhand Smoke, Thirdhand Smoke, and Even E-Cigarettes
Wanting to live longer and healthier together with our beloved pets is a wish shared by all owners.
But did you know that some of the everyday things we do can be fatally harmful to them? The most dangerous of all is ‘smoking’.
Everyone knows smoking does nothing but harm to people, yet many overlook that the danger is even greater for our dogs.
Dogs have a far keener sense of smell than humans. In fact, the surface area of the olfactory epithelium alone is about 5 (cm×cm) in humans versus roughly 170–200 (cm×cm) in dogs — dozens of times larger.
Because of this highly developed sense of smell, dogs are exposed to the irritation of cigarette smoke far more strongly and in far greater amounts than people. Smoke that we barely notice is, to them, a mass of toxic substances that strongly irritates the nasal mucosa.
The Fatal Diseases Caused by Cigarette Smoke
Cigarette smoke does more than irritate the nasal mucosa — it can cause various cancers in our pets. Studies comparing dogs living with smokers to those that don't found a significantly higher cancer risk.
Long-nosed dogs: risk of nasal cancer
In dolichocephalic breeds such as the Italian Greyhound and Poodle, smoke lingers longer inside the long nasal passages, making the risk of nasal cancer up to 2.5 times higher than for dogs whose owners are non-smokers.
Short-nosed dogs: risk of lung cancer
For brachycephalic breeds such as the Shih Tzu or Pekingese, you might think the short nose makes them safer, but because the short nose filters out fewer smoke particles, the smoke reaches the lungs more easily, raising the risk of lung cancer.
In short, pets living with a smoking owner face a higher risk of developing cancer.
The Danger of Thirdhand Smoke
Cigarette smoke releases over 7,000 chemicals, including ammonia, arsenic, benzene, carbon monoxide, and nicotine. These chemicals cling to and remain on the home, car, clothing, and furniture. Some of these residues are later re-released into the air and drift around.
Our pets, in particular, rub their bodies against clothing and furniture and lick owners who have just been smoking. They directly ingest these smoke residues through their mouths and skin, which can sharply raise the risk of various tumors. Invisible toxic substances keep accumulating in their bodies.
Are E-Cigarettes Okay?
Some may wonder, ‘Aren't e-cigarettes fine?’ But e-cigarettes are also very dangerous.
The risk from secondhand exposure may be lower than with regular cigarettes, but if a dog happens to ingest the e-cigarette liquid, it can cause acute poisoning and be life-threatening.
Quitting Is the Only Answer
In conclusion: never smoke beside your dog. On walks, indoors, on the balcony — wherever you are together with your pet, there should be no cigarette smoke.
If you care about your pet's health and want to live together for a long time, this is a great chance to try quitting for their sake.
Quitting smoking is the best way to repay our pets' love.