Don’t Puff Around Puff!

December 29, 2024

The Effect of Secondhand Smoke on Cats

Candilee Jackson, BA, MPH

Introduction:

The war on smoking and tobacco products began in 1964 with the Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health. The battles were few and far between until the 1970s when groups and health organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association picked up the stop-smoking mantle and ran with it. The skirmishes were fierce because society had been lulled into submission since the 1920s when movies, magazines, roadside ads, war-effort drives, and other forms of tobacco advertising were prominent. And the big surprise: nicotine was determined to be addictive.

There is little evidence that smoking around family pets was addressed early on in the push to stop tobacco use. Even in today’s society, the general public remains ignorant of the effects of tobacco, secondhand smoke, and even third-hand smoke on pets; especially on cats and dogs.

Secondpaw Smoke

Thanks to good advertisement and court cases against the tobacco industry, the general public was given a wake-up call to both the dangers of smoking as well as the inherent dangers of secondhand smoke, with literally ALL the information geared toward human tobacco use.

It is common knowledge “that smoking affects the health of not just the one smoking, but everyone exposed to the secondhand smoke. But what about secondpaw smoke? Rover and Mittens are susceptible to the health effects of secondhand smoke just like the rest of the family.”2

The American Lung Association along with the American Cancer Society are among the few organizations that have taken the research completed by the Federal Drug Administration and applied this knowledge to the health of pets. Animals that groom via licking their fur can ingest carcinogens and toxins “if that fur is coated with smoke residue.”2

“C” is for Cats and Cancer

Studies indicate “that cats that were exposed to secondhand smoke were more than three times as likely to develop malignant lym- phoma as cats who were not. Their risk of squamous cell carcinoma – the most common and aggressive type of oral cancer in cats – may be higher, too.”2

Living in a smokey environment puts felines at a greater risk for developing not only asthma but lung cancer “because cats have short noses. Unrelated to nose length, felines that inhale second- hand smoke also have a higher incidence of lymphoma … a cancer of the lymph nodes that carries a poor prognosis for survival. Cats that groom excessively develop tumors in their mouths from licking off toxic particles that accumulate on their fur from smoke-filled air. These tidy felines expose the mucous membranes in their mouths to carcinogens that cause oral tumors.”3,5

Respiratory Diseases

As with humans, pets living with owners who are smokers are “more likely to experience symptoms of respiratory disease, like asthma, bronchitis, and lung cancer than pets that live in smoke-free homes. Cats are particularly susceptible to asthma flare-ups when exposed to secondhand smoke. According to the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, these symptoms can be severe and even fatal.”2

Smoking-related Disease IS Preventable!

In total agreement with the FDA, the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association have long stated that “smoking is the leading preventable cause of death, disease, and disability in the United States. In the US, one out of every four non-smokers and two out of every five children are exposed to the harmful effects of secondhand and third-hand smoke. That’s fifty-eight million people exposed to something that’s preventable. Smoking’s not only harmful to people; it’s harmful to pets, too. If fifty-eight million non- smoking adults and children are exposed to tobacco smoke, imagine how many pets are exposed.”1

The effects of smoking can affect nearly every organ in the human body2 and there is NO safe level of exposure to secondsmoke.”3 Tobacco and health studies have revealed there are over six-hundred substances contained in ONE cigarette, “and when burned, that same cigarette releases over seven thousand chemicals, with ninety- three on the FDA’s Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents in Tobacco Products and Tobacco Smoke.”4

Included in these substances are: “ammonia, arsenic, benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, lead, mercury, nicotine, toluene, and uranium-238.”4 The health risk is dangerously high because all the various chemicals, substances, and additives in cigarette smoke builds up over time on walls, draperies, furniture, clothing, the car, AND the fur on pets.4 “A good way to understand thirdhand smoke is to think of it as a toxic-chemical layer cake:

    • it builds up in areas where people smoke
    • it can last for months even after a smoker has stopped smok- ing—like a “gift” that keeps on giving
    • it can be released back into the air as gases or ultrafine particles after reacting with chemicals normally present in the air, like nitrous acid and ozone.”1,4A Word About Electronic Cigarettes“While there have been no studies to suggest that fumes from electronic cigarettes pose any danger to pets, there is a risk of poisoning if they are ingested. The Veterinary Poisons Information Service has seen an increase in cases of electronic cigarette poisoning over the past few years, with one-hundred-thirteen reported in 2016.”5

      “Because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not begun its review of any e-cigarette or its ingredients, nor has FDA issued any standards on the products, e-cigarette composition and ef- fects vary. What researchers do know is that these toxic chemicals and metals have all been found in e-cigarettes, including nicotine, propylene glycol, carcinogens, acrolein, diacetyl, diethylene, heavy metals (nickel, tin, lead), cadmium, benzene, as well as a host of ultrafine particulates that are inhaled deeply into the lung.”2,4

The Motivation To Quit

The general public has been well-educated on the effects of tobacco on our health, and all the publicity and public education have proven to be great motivators to quit the smoking habit. How about considering a different type of motivation to quit? “Our pets motivate us to do many things that subsequently affect our health. We put down our forks and stop eating our dinner to fill their food bowls when they are hungry. We interrupt our favorite television show to take them for a walk when they need a potty break. Basically, our pets motivate us to eat less and exercise more!”3

Knowing that smoking has a negative impact on our pet’s health, this just might be the jump start needed to kick the habit. “A study conducted at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit demonstrated that 28.4% of smokers said they would try to stop smoking after learning that secondhand smoke was detrimental to their pets’ health.”1,3

Since there is no risk-free level of secondhand and third-hand smoke, consider taking smoke breaks OUTSIDE until the habit is broken. Minimize pet exposure with a thorough housecleaning, including washing down walls, shampooing carpets and furniture, and dry-cleaning draperies. Expensive, possibly, but the end product is a healthier lifestyle for you, the pet owner, and a much healthier living environment for your furry friends.

Sources

Candilee Jackson

Candilee holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health, with an emphasis on Oncology Counseling. She also authored California’s “Clean Air Act” in 1986 as her degree thesis, and the Act was passed by the state legislature in 1990.