Pets Need Clean Air Too! Heather Brouillard

serious health consequences for dogs, cats, small pets, and even fish. Dogs that live in smoking households can develop changes in their airways and lungs similar to smokers. Cases of nose and lung cancer are more prevalent in dogs continuously exposed to secondhand and thirdhand smoke. For cats, not only do they breathe in secondhand smoke like dogs, but their natural instinct to groom themselves exposes them to the risk of ingesting thirdhand smoke and chemical residue that collects on their fur. Cats living in smoking households are two to four times more likely to develop aggressive mouth cancer.

Birds are very sensitive to air pollution, including chemicals from secondhand smoke. Birds are also at risk of exposure to thirdhand smoke through preening and absorption of chemicals through the feet. This can cause pneumonia, lung cancer, heart problems, allergies, and feather plucking. When exposed to secondhand and thirdhand smoke, small pets like guinea pigs develop cancer, pulmonary hypertension, and decreased weight gain. Even fish are not immune to the effects of nicotine exposure through secondhand and thirdhand smoke. Nicotine dissolves easily in water and is highly toxic to fish.

Exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke is not the only hazard facing pets living with smokers. Accidental ingestion of cigarettes, cigarette butts, ENDS use capsules, and refill liquid can cause disastrous consequences from nicotine poisoning. Fatal doses of nicotine can be as little as 20 milligrams, while one combustible cigarette can contain 9 to 30 mg of nicotine. Capsules from ENDS products can contain twenty times the amount of nicotine as a cigarette.

With this knowledge, the best way to protect your pet is to eliminate their exposure to these sources of nicotine and carcinogenic chemicals. Even when you smoke or vape outside the home you still carry thirdhand smoke and chemicals in on your clothes and hair. Therefore, the best choice for your health and the health of your pet is to quit smoking and vaping. There are many resources available to help you.

Studies show that quitting with the support of counseling and medication can double or even triple your chances of successfully quitting. In Vermont, there are several different support options to help you quit. The in-person and virtual quit smoking groups offered through Blueprint for Health and facilitated locally through the Community Health Improvement team at Rutland Regional Medical Center offers weekly group counseling and support to help you quit cigarettes and other tobacco products. Enrollment in the Tobacco Treatment workshop qualFall 2021 ifies you for free or reduced-cost nicotine replacement. There are also more selfgoverned quit support options available through 1-800-QUIT-NOW and 802Quits. org, and through these options, you may also qualify for free nicotine replacement. However you choose to make your quit attempt, there is a support that is right for you. Do it for yourself and for your furry friend.

For more info about the available quit smoking support please reach out to the Tobacco Treatment Program at Rutland Regional Medical Center, 802.747.3768, or email us at smp@rrmc.org.