Pets at greater risk of health problems from second hand smoke

Brits may claim to be a nation of pet lovers, but new research from pet insurer MORE TH> N reveals that millions of people are putting their animals at risk of serious health problems by regularly smoking around them. And with the smoking ban due to come into force in England within weeks, the research shows that over a million smokers may be putting their pets at even higher risk of illness as they admit they’ll go out less, and instead stay at home and smoke.

British pet owners are frequent smokers, according to MORE TH>N’s research, with one quarter (24 per cent) of them smoking every day, and nearly half (44 per cent) of these admit to lighting up in the house when their pet is around, often in the same room.

Sophie de Pelet, consultant vet to MORE TH>N, said: “Cats and dogs can suffer similar effects to humans when they are exposed to second-hand smoke, including breathing problems, watery eyes and coughing, which may well lead to more serious and potentially fatal diseases such as chronic bronchitis, lymphoma and lung cancer.”

According to international research, having two smokers in a household increases the chance of smoking related illnesses four-fold in cats; and MORE TH>N’s research reveals that almost a third (31 per cent) of smoking households in the UK who have pets also have more than one smoker. Despite the publicity about the health risks associated with passive smoking, 38 per cent of pet owners who smoke confess that it has never crossed their minds that smoking around their animals could harm them.

Only one in ten (11 per cent) smokers who responded to MORE TH>N’s survey said that they would stop smoking if they knew it could make their pets unwell. Three-quarters of a million people (775,500) admitted they would continue smoking as normal, regardless of the serious health problems their smoking poses to pets.

Melvin Everest, head of pet insurance for MORE TH> N, said: “’Paw-sive’ smoking may sound like a joke, but it’s a serious issue. Many pets are helpless to passive smoking, and it’s sad to see that so many of them are at risk of serious illness because of their owners’ behaviour. If people must smoke, we urge them not to light up around their pet. Go outside or at least smoke beside an open window to lessen the effects on animals, not to mention other people. Better yet, take the opportunity to stop altogether now that the smoking ban is in. Your pet – and your body – will thank you for it.”